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PAUL-L-FORD 


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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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THE   GREAT 
K.  &  A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 


By 
Paul  Leicester  Ford 

Author  of  The  Honorable  Peter  Stirling 


Contents 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     THE  PARTY  ON  SPECIAL  NO.  21 8       I 

II     THE  HOLDING-UP  OF  OVERLAND 

NO.  3 17 

III  A  NIGHT'S  WORK  ON  THE   AL 

KALI  PLAINS 30 

IV  SOME     RATHER     QUEER     ROAD 

AGENTS 43 

V       A   TRIP    TO    THE    GRAND    CANON  55 
VI       THE  HAPPENINGS  DOWN  HANCE's 

TRAIL 69 

VII     A  CHANGE  OF  BASE    ....     82 
VIII     HOW    DID    THE    SECRET    LEAK 

OWT  ? 93 

vii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

IX     A  TALK  BEFORE  BREAKFAST  .  JO/ 

X     WAITING  FOR  HELP      .     .     .  Il8 
XI     THE  LETTERS  CHANGE  HANDS 

AGAIN 130 

XII       AN    EVENING    IN    JAIL      .       .       ,  140 

XIII  A    LESSON    IN    POLITENESS      .       .  153 

XIV  "LISTENERS  NEVER  HEAR  ANY 

THING   GOOD"        ....  165 

XV       THE    SURRENDER   OF  THE    LET 
TERS          175 

XVI       A    GLOOMY    GOOD-BY        .       .       .  1 86 


vm 


THE 
Great  K.  &  A.  Train- Robbery 

CHAPTER   I 

THE    PARTY    ON    SPECIAL    NO.   2l8 

ANY  one  who  hopes  to  find  in  what  is  here 
written  a  work  of  literature  had  better  lay  it 
aside  unread.  At  Yale  I  should  have  got 
the  sack  in  rhetoric  and  English  composition, 
let  alone  other  studies,  had  it  not  been  for 
the  fact  that  I  played  half-back  on  the  team, 
and  so  the  professors  marked  me  away  up 
above  where  I  ought  to  have  ranked.  That 
was  twelve  years  ago,  but  my  life  since  I 
received  my  parchment  has  hardly  been  of 
a  kind  to  improve  me  in  either  style  or 
grammar.  It  is  true  that  one  woman  tells 
me  I  write  well,  and  my  directors  never  find 
fault  with  my  compositions ;  but  I  know 
that  she  likes  my  letters  because,  whatever 


THE   GREAT 

else  they  may  say  to  her,  they  always  say  in 
some  form,  "I  love  you,"  while  my  board 
approve  my  annual  reports  because  thus  far  I 
have  been  able  to  end  each  with  "I  re 
commend  the  declaration  of  a  dividend  of — 
per  cent  from  the  earnings  of  the  current 
year."  I  should  therefore  prefer  to  reserve 
my  writings  for  such  friendly  critics,  if  it  did 
not  seem  necessary  to  make  public  a  plain 
statement  concerning  an  affair  over  which 
there  appears  to  be  much  confusion.  I  have 
heard  in  the  last  five  years  not  less  than 
twenty  renderings  of  what  is  commonly 
called  "the  great  K.  &  A.  train-robbery," 
—  some  so  twisted  and  distorted  that  but  for 
the  intermediate  versions  I  should  never 
have  recognized  them  as  attempts  to  narrate 
the  series  of  events  in  which  I  played  a 
somewhat  prominent  part.  I  have  read  or 
been  told  that,  unassisted,  the  pseudo-hero 
captured  a  dozen  desperadoes  ;  that  he  was 
one  of  the  road  agents  himself;  that  he  was 
saved  from  lynching  only  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  cavalry;  that  the  action  of  the 

2 


K.  &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

United  States  government  in  rescuing  him 
from  the  civil  authorities  was  a  most  high 
handed  interference  with  State  rights ;  that 
he  received  his  reward  from  a  grateful  rail 
road  by  being  promoted  ;  that  a  lovely  woman 
as  recompense  for  his  villany  —  but  bother  ! 
it 's  my  business  to  tell  what  really  occurred, 
and  not  what  the  world  chooses  to  invent. 
And  if  any  man  thinks  he  would  have  done 
otherwise  in  my  position,  I  can  only  say  that  he 
is  a  better  or  a  worse  man  than  Dick  Gordon. 
Primarily,  it  was  football  which  shaped 
my  end.  Owing  to  my  skill  in  the  game,  1 
took  a  post-graduate  at  the  Sheffield  Scien 
tific  School,  that  the  team  might  have  my 
services  for  an  extra  two  years.  That  led 
to  my  knowing  a  little  about  mechanical 
engineering,  and  when  I  left  the  "  quad  "  for 
good  I  went  into  the  Alton  Railroad  shops. 
It  was  n't  long;  before  I  was  foreman  of  a 

O 

section ;  next  I  became  a  division  superin 
tendent,  and  after  I  had  stuck  to  that  for  a 
time  I  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the 
Kansas  &  Arizona  Railroad,  a  line  extending 
3 


THE   GREAT 

from  Trinidad  in  Kansas  to  The  Needles  in 
Arizona,  tapping  the  Missouri  Western 
System  at  the  first  place,  and  the  Great 
Southern  at  the  other.  With  both  lines  we 
had  important  traffic  agreements,  as  well  as 
the  closest  relations,  which  sometimes  were  a 
little  difficult,  as  the  two  roads  were  anything 
but  friendly,  and  we  had  directors  of 'each 
on  the  K.  &  A.  board,  in  which  they  fought 
like  cats.  Indeed,  it  could  only  be  a  question 
of  time  when  one  would  oust  the  other  and 
then  absorb  my  road.  My  head-quarters 
were  at  Albuquerque,  in  New  Mexico,  and 
it  was  there,  in  October,  1890,  that  I 
received  the  communication  which  was  the 
beginning  of  all  that  followed. 

This  initial  factor  was  a  letter  from  the 
president  of  the  Missouri  Western,  telling 
me  that  their  first  vice-president,  Mr.  Cullen 
(who  was  also  a  director  of  my  road),  was 
coming  out  to  attend  the  annual  election  of 
the  K.  &  A.,  which  under  our  charter  had  to 
be  held  in  Ash  Forks,  Arizona.  A  second 
paragraph  told  me  that  Mr.  Cullen's  family 
4 


K.  &  A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

accompanied  him,  and  that  they  all  wished 
to  visit  the  Grand  Canon  of  the  Colorado 
on  their  way.  Finally  the  president  wrote 
that  the  party  travelled  in  his  own  private 
car,  and  asked  me  to  make  myself  generally 
useful  to  them.  Having  become  quite 
hardened  to  just  such  demands,  at  the  proper 
date  I  ordered  my  superintendent's  car  on 
to  No.  2,  and  the  next  morning  it  was  dropped 
off  at  Trinidad. 

The  moment  No.  3  arrived,  I  climbed  into 
the  president's  special,  that  was  the  last  car 
on  the  train,  and  introduced  myself  to  Mr, 
Cullen,  whom,  though  an  official  of  my  road, 
I  had  never  met.  He  seemed  surprised  at 
my  presence,  but  greeted  me  very  pleasantly 
as  soon  as  I  explained  that  the  Missouri 
Western  office  had  asked  me  to  do  what  I 
could  for  him,  and  that  I  was  there  for  that 
purpose.  His  party  were  about  to  sit  down 
to  breakfast,  and  he  asked  me  to  join  them  : 
so  we  passed  into  the  dining-room  at  the 
forward  end  of  the  car,  where  I  was  in 
troduced  to  "  My  son,"  "  Lord  Ralles,"  and 
5 


THE    GREAT 

w  Captain  Ackland."  The  son  was  a  junior 
copy  of  his  father,  tall  and  fine-looking,  but, 
in  place  of  the  frank  and  easy  manner  of  his 
sire,  he  was  so  very  English  that  most  people 
would  have  sworn  falsely  as  to  his  native 
land.  Lord  Ralles  was  a  little,  well-built 
chap,  not  half  so  English  as  Albert  Cullen, 
quick  in  manner  and  thought,  being  in  this 
the  opposite  of  his  brother  Captain  Ackland, 
who  was  heavy  enough  to  rock-ballast  a  road 
bed.  Both  brothers  gave  me  the  impression 
of  being  gentlemen,  and  both  were  decidedly 
good-looking. 

After  the  introductions,  Mr.  Cullen  said 
we  would  not  wait,  and  his  remark  called  my 
attention  to  the  fact  that  there  was  one  more 
place  at  the  table  than  there  were  people 
assembled.  I  had  barely  noted  this,  when 
my  host  said,  "  Here 's  the  truant,"  and, 
turning,  I  faced  a  lady  who  had  just  entered. 
Mr.  Cullen  said,  "  Madge,  let  me  introduce 
Mr.  Gordon  to  you."  My  bow  was  made  to 
I  girl  of  about  twenty,  with  light  brown  hair, 
the  bluest  of  eyes,  a  fresh  skin,  and  a  fine 
6 


K.  &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

figure,  dressed  so  nattily  as  to  be  to  me,  after 
my  four  years  of  Western  life,  a  sight  for 
tired  eyes.  She  greeted  me  pleasantly,  made 
a  neat  little  apology  for  having  kept  us  wait 
ing,  and  then  we  all  sat  down. 

It  was  a  very  jolly  breakfast-table,  Mr. 
Cullen  and  his  son  being  capital  talkers,  and 
Lord  Ralles  a  good  third,  while  Miss  Cullen 
was  quick  and  clever  enough  to  match  the 
three.  Before  the  meal  was  over  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  Lord  Ralles  was  in  love 
with  Miss  Cullen,  for  he  kept  making  low 
asides  to  her;  and  from  the  fact  that  she 
allowed  them,  and  indeed  responded,  I  drew 
the  conclusion  that  he  was  a  lucky  beggar, 
feeling,  I  confess,  a  little  pang  that  a  title 
was  going  to  win  such  a  nice  American 
girl. 

One  of  the  first  subjects  spoken  of  was 
train-robbery,  and  Miss  Cullen,  like  most 
Easterners,  seemed  to  take  a  great  interest 
in  it,  and  had  any  quantity  of  questions  to 
ask  me. 

u  I  Ve  left  all  my  jewelry  behind,  except 
7 


THE    GREAT 

my  watch,"  she  said,  "  and  that  I  hide  every 
night.  So  I  really  hope  we  '11  be  held  up,  it 
would  be  such  an  adventure/' 

"  There  is  n't  any  chance  of  it,  Miss 
Cullen,"  I  told  her ;  u  and  if  we  were, 
you  probably  would  n't  even  know  that 
it  was  happening,  but  would  sleep  right 
through  it." 

"  Would  n't  they  try  to  get  our  money  and 
our  watches  ?  "  she  demanded. 

I  told  her  no,  and  explained  that  the  ex 
press-  and  mail-cars  were  the  only  ones  to 
which  the  road  agents  paid  any  attention. 
She  wanted  to  know  the  way  it  was  done : 
so  I  described  to  her  how  sometimes  the 
train  was  flagged  by  a  danger  signal,  and 
when  it  had  slowed  down  the  runner  found 
himself  covered  by  armed  men ;  or  how  a 
gang  would  board  the  train,  one  by  one,  at 
way  stations,  and  then,  when  the  time  came, 
steal  forward,  secure  the  express  agent  and 
postal  clerk,  climb  over  the  tender,  and  com 
pel  the  runner  to  stop  the  train  at  some 
lonely  spot  on  the  road.  She  made  me  tell 
8 


K.   &  A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

her*  all  the  details  of  such  robberies  as  I 
knew  about,  and,  though  I  had  never  been 
concerned  in  any,  I  was  able  to  describe 
several,  which,  as  they  were  monotonously 
alike,  I  confess  I  colored  up  a  bit  here  and 
there,  in  an  attempt  to  make  them  interest 
ing  to  her.  I  seemed  to  succeed,  for  she 
kept  the  subject  going  even  after  we  had  left 
the  table  and  were  smoking  our  cigars  in 
the  observation  saloon.  Lord  Ralles  had  a 
lot  to  say  about  the  American  lack  of  courage 
in  letting  trains  containing  twenty  and  thirty 
men  be  held  up  by  half  a  dozen  robbers. 

tl  Why,"  he  ejaculated,  "  my  brother  and 
I  each  have  a  double  express  with  us,  and  do 
you  think  we  'd  sit  still  in  our  seats  ?  No. 
Hang  me  if  we  would  n't  pot  something." 

"  You  might,"  I  laughed,  a  little  nettled, 
I  confess,  by  his  speech,  "  but  I  'm  afraid  it 
would  be  yourselves." 

"  Aw,  you  fancy  resistance  impossible  ?  " 
drawled  Albert  Cullen. 

"  It  has  been  tried,"  I  answered,  "  and 
without  success.  You  can  see  it's  like  all 
9 


THE   GREAT 

surprises.  One  side  is  prepared  before  the 
other  side  knows  there  is  danger.  Without 
regard  to  relative  numbers,  the  odds  are  all 
in  favor  of  the  road  agents." 

"  But  I  would  n't  sit  still,  whatever  the 
odds,"  asserted  his  lordship.  "  And  no  Eng 
lishman  would." 

"  Well,  Lord  Ralles,"  I  said,  «  I  hope  for 
your  sake,  then,  that  you  '11  never  be  in  a 
hold-up,  for  I  should  feel  about  you  as  the 
runner  of  a  locomotive  did  when  the  old  lady 
asked  him  if  it  was  n't  very  painful  to  him 
to  run  over  people.  l  Yes,  madam,'  he  sadly 
replied :  '  there  is  nothing  musses  an  engine 
up  so.'  " 

I  don't  think  Miss  Cullen  liked  Lord 
Ralles's  comments  on  American  courage 
any  better  than  I  did,  for  she  said, — 

"  Can't  you  take  Lord  Ralles  and  Captain 
Ackland  into  the  service  of  the  K.  &  A.,  Mr. 
Gordon,  as  a  special  guard  ? " 

"  The  K.  &  A.  has  never  had  a  robbery 
yet,  Miss   Cullen,"  I  replied,  "  and    I   don't 
think  that  it  ever  will  have." 
10 


K.   &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

14  Why  not  ?  "  she  asked. 

I  explained  to  her  how  the  Canon  of  the 
Colorado  to  the  north,  and  the  distance  of 
the  Mexican  border  to  the  south,  made  escape 
so  almost  desperate  that  the  road  agents  pre 
ferred  to  devote  their  attentions  to  other 
routes.  "  If  we  were  boarded,  Miss  Cullen," 
I  said,  "  your  jewelry  would  be  as  safe  as  it 
is  in  Chicago,  for  the  robbers  would  only 
clean  out  the  express-  and  mail-cars;  but  if 
they  should  so  far  forget  their  manners  as  to 
take  your  trinkets,  I  'd  agree  to  return  them 
to  you  inside  of  one  week." 

"  That  makes  it  all  the  jollier,"  she  cried, 
eagerly.  "  We  could  have  the  fun  of  the 
adventure,  and  yet  not  lose  anything.  Can't 
you  arrange  for  it,  Mr.  Gordon  ?  " 

"  I  'd  like  to  please  you,  Miss  Cullen,"  I 
said,  "  and  I  'd  like  to  give  Lord  Ralles  a 
chance  to  show  us  how  to  handle  those 
gentry  ;  but  it 's  not  to  be  done."  I  really 
should  have  been  glad  to  have  the  road 
agents  pay  us  a  call. 

We  spent  that  day  pulling  up  the  Raton 
ii 


THE   GREAT 

pass,  and  so  on  over  the  Glorietta  pass  down 
to  Lamy,  where,  as  the  party  wanted  to  see 
Santa  Fe,  I  had  our  two  cars  dropped  off  the 
overland,  and  we  ran  up  the  branch  line  to 
the  old  Mexican  city.  It  was  well-worn 
ground  to  me,  but  I  enjoyed  showing  the 
sights  to  Miss  Cullen,  for  by  that  time  I  had 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  had  never  met 
a  sweeter  or  jollier  girl.  Her  beauty,  too, 
was  of  a  kind  that  kept  growing  on  one,  and 
before  I  had  known  her  twenty-four  hours, 
without  quite  being  in  love  with  her,  I  was 
beginning  to  hate  Lord  Ralles,  which  was 
about  the  same  thing,  I  suppose.  Every 
hour  convinced  me  that  the  two  understood 
each  other,  not  merely  from  the  little  asides 
and  confidences  they  kept  exchanging,  but 
even  more  so  from  the  way  Miss  Cullen 
would  take  his  lordship  down  occasionally. 
Yet,  like  a  fool,  the  more  I  saw  to  confirm 
my  first  diagnosis,  the  more  I  found  myself 
dwelling  on  the  dimples  at  the  corners  of 
Miss  Cullen's  mouth,  the  bewitching  uplift 
of  her  upper  lip,  the  runaway  curls  about 
12 


K.  &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

her  neck,  and  the   curves  and  color  of  hei 
cheeks. 

Half  a  day  served  to  see  everything  in 
Santa  Fe  worth  looking  at,  but  Mr.  Cullen 
decided  to  spend  there  the  time  they  had  to 
wait  for  his  other  son  to  join  the  party. 
To  pass  the  hours,  I  hunted  up  some  ponies, 
and  we  spent  three  days  in  long  rides  up 
the  old  Santa  Fe  trail  and  to  the  outlying 
mountains.  Only  one  incident  was  other 
than  pleasant,  and  that  was  my  fault.  As 
we  were  riding  back  to  our  cars  on  the 
second  afternoon,  we  had  to  cross  the  branch 
road-bed,  where  a  gang  happened  to  be  at 
work  tamping  the  ties. 

"  Since  you  're  interested  in  road  agents, 
Miss  Cullen,"  I  said,  "  you  may  like  to  see 
one.  That  fellow  standing  in  the  ditch  is 
Jack  Drute,  who  was  concerned  in  the 
D.  &  R.  G.  hold-up  three  years  ago." 

Miss  Cullen  looked  where  I  pointed,  and 

seeing    a    man  with  a  gun,  gave  a  startled 

jump,    and    pulled    up    her    pony,    evidently 

supposing  that  we  were  about  to  be  attacked. 

13 


THE  GREAT 

"  Sha'n't  we  run  ?  "  she  began,  but  then 
checked  herself,  as  she  took  in  the  facts  of 
the  drab  clothes  of  the  gang  and  the  two 
armed  men  in  uniform.  "They  are  con 
victs  ?  "  she  asked,  and  when  I  nodded,  she 
said,  "  Poor  things  !  "  After  a  pause,  she 
asked,  "  How  long  is  he  in  prison  for  ?  " 

"  Twenty  years,"  I  told  her." 

"  How  harsh  that  seems  !  "  she  said, 
"  How  cruel  we  are  to  people  for  a  few 
moments'  wrong-doing,  which  the  circum 
stances  may  almost  have  justified  !  "  She 
checked  her  pony  as  we  came  opposite 
Drute,  and  said,  "Can  you  use  money  ?  " 

"  Can  I,  lyedy  ?  "  said  the  fellow,  leering 
in  an  attempt  to  look  amiable.  "  Wish  I 
had  the  chance  to  try." 

The  guard  interrupted  by  teL.ag  her  it 
was  n't  permitted  to  speak  to  the  convicts 
while  out  of  bounds,  and  so  we  had  to  ride 
on.  All  Miss  Cullen  was  able  to  do  was  to 
throw  him  r.  !:Ule  bunch  of  flowers  she  had 
gathered  in  the  mountains.  It  was  literally 
casting  pearls  before  swine,  for  the  rellow 


K.  &  A.    TRAIM-ROBBERY 

did  not  seem  particularly  pleased,  and  when, 
late  that  night,  I  walked  down  there  with  a 
lantern  I  found  the  flowers  lying  in  the 
ditch.  The  experience  seemed  to  sadden 
and  distress  Miss  Cullen  very  much  for  the 
rest  of  the  afternoon,  and  I  kicked  myself 
for  having  called  her  attention  to  the  brute, 
and  could  have  knocked  him  down  for  the 
way  he  had  looked  at  her.  It  is  curious  that 
I  felt  thankful  at  the  time  that  Drute  was 
not  holding  up  a  train  Miss  Cullen  was  on. 
It  is  always  the  unexpected  that  happens. 
If  I  could  have  looked  into  the  future,  what 
a  strange  variation  on  this  thought  I  should 
have  seen  ! 

The  three  days  went  all  too  quickly, 
thanks  to  Miss  Cullen,  and  by  the  end  o.f 
that  time  I  began  to  understand  what  love 
really  meant  to  a  chap,  and  how  men  could 
come  to  kill  each  other  for  it.  For  a  fairly 
sensible,  hard-headed  fellow  it  was  pretty 
quick  work,  I  acknowledge ;  but  let  any 
man  have  seven  years  of  Western  life  with 
out  seeing  a  woman  worth  speaking  of,  and 
15 


THE   GREAT 

then  meet  Miss  Cullen,  and  if  he  did  n't  dt 
as  I  did,  I  would  n't  trust  him  on  the  tail 
board  of  a  locomotive,  for  I  should  put  him 
down  as  defective  both  in  eyesight  and  ia 
intellect. 


K.  &.  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 


CHAPTER   II 

THE    HOLDING-UP    OF    OVERLAND    NO.  £ 

ON  the  third  day  a  despatch  came  from 
Frederic  Cullen  telling  his  father  he  would 
join  us  at  Lamy  on  No.  3  that  evening.  I 
at  once  ordered  97  and  218  coupled  to  the 
connecting  train,  and  in  an  hour  we  were  back 
on  the  main  line.  While  waiting  for  the 
overland  to  arrive,  Mr.  Cullen  asked  me  to 
do  something  which,  as  it  later  proved  to 
have  considerable  bearing  on  the  events  of 
that  night,  is  worth  mentioning,  trivial  as  it 
seems.  When  I  had  first  joined  the  party, 
I  had  given  orders  for  97  to  be  kicked  in 
between  the  main  string  and  their  special, 
so  as  not  to  deprive  the  occupants  of  218  of 
the  view  from  their  observation  saloon  and 
balcony  platform.  Mr.  Cullen  came  to  me 
now  and  asked  me  to  reverse  the  arrange- 
a  17 


THE   GREAT 

ment  and  make  my  car  the  tail  end.  I  was 
giving  orders  for  the  splitting  and  kicking  in 
when  No.  3  arrived,  and  thus  did  not  see  the 
greeting  of  Frederic  Culleai  and  his  family. 
When  I  joined  them,  his  father  told  me  that 
the  high  altitude  had  knocked  his  son  up  so, 
that  he  had  to  be  helped  from  the  ordinary 
sleeper  to  the  special  and  had  gone  to  bed 
immediately.  Out  West  we  have  to  know 
something  of  medicine,  and  my  car  had  its 
chest  of  drugs :  so  I  took  some  tablets  and 
went  into  his  state-room.  Frederic  was  like 
his  brother  in  appearance,  though  not  in 
manner,  having  a  quick,  alert  way.  He  was 
breathing  with  such  difficulty  that  I  was 
almost  tempted  to  give  him  nitroglycerin, 
instead  of  strychnine,  but  he  said  he  would 
be  all  right  as  soon  as  he  became  accustomed 
to  the  rarefied  air,  quite  pooh-poohing  my 
suggestion  that  he  take  No.  2  back  to 
Trinidad  ;  and  while  I  was  still  urging,  the 
train  started.  Leaving  him  the  vials  of 
digitalis  and  strychnine,  therefore,  I  went 
back,  and  dined  solus  on  my  own  car,  indulg- 
18 


K.  &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

jng  at  the  end  in  a  cigar,  the  smoke  of  which 
would  keep  turning  into  pictures  of  Miss 
Cullen.  I  have  thought  about  those  picture? 
since  then,  and  have  concluded  that  when 
cigar-smoke  behaves  like  that,  a  man  might 
as  well  read  his  destiny  in  it,  for  it  can  mean 
only  one  thing. 

After  enjoying  the  combination,  I  went  to 
No.  218  to  have  a  look  at  the  son,  and  found 
that  the  heart  tonics  had  benefited  him  con 
siderably.  On  leaving  him,  I  went  to  the 
dining-room,  where  the  rest  of  the  party 
were  still  at  dinner,  to  ask  that  the  invalid 
have  a  strong  cup  of  coffee,  and  after  deliver 
ing  my  request  Mr.  Cullen  asked  me  to 
join  them  in  a  cigar.  This  I  did  gladly,  foi 
a  cigar  and  Miss  Cullen's  society  were  even 
pleasanter  than  a  cigar  and  Miss  Cullen's 
pictures,  because  the  pictures  never  quite 
did  her  justice,  and,  besides,  did  n't  talk. 

Our  smoke  finished,  we  went  back  to  the 

saloon,   where  the  gentlemen    sat    down    to 

poker,  which  Lord   Ralles  had  just  learned, 

and  liked.     They  did  not  ask  me  to  take  a 

19 


THE   GREAT 

hand,  for  which  I  was  grateful,  as  the  salary 
of  a  railroad  superintendent  would  hardly 
stand  the  game  they  probably  played;  and  I 
had  my  compensation  when  Miss  Cullen  also 
was  not  asked  to  join  them.  She  said  she  was 
going  to  watch  the  moonlight  on  the  moun 
tains  from  the  platform,  and  opened  the  door 
to  go  out,  finding  for  the  first  time  that  No. 
97  was  the  "  ender."  In  her  disappointment 
she  protested  against  this,  and  wanted  to  know 
the  why  and  wherefore. 

u  We  shall  have  far  less  motion,  Madge," 
Mr.  Cullen  explained,  "and  then  we  sha'n't 
have  the  rear-end  man  in  our  car  at  night." 

"  But  I  don't  mind  the  motion,"  urged 
Miss  Cullen,  "and  the  flagman  is  only  there 
after  we  are  all  in  our  rooms.  Please  leave 
us  the  view." 

"  I  prefer  the  present  arrangement,  Madge," 
insisted  Mr.  Cullen,  in  a  very  positive  voice. 

I  was  so  sorry  for  Miss  Cullen's  disap 
pointment  that  on  impulse  I  said,  "  The  plat 
form  of  97  is  entirely  at  your  service,  Miss 
Cullen."  The  moment  it  was  out  1  realized 
20 


K.  &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

that  I  ought  not  to  have  said  it,  and  that  I 
deserved  a  rebuke  for  supposing  she  would 
use  my  car. 

Miss  Cullen  took  it  better  than  I  hoped 
for,  and  was  declining  the  offer  as  kindly 
as  my  intention  had  been  in  making  it, 
when,  much  to  my  astonishment,  her  father 
interrupted  by  saying,  — 

"  By  all  means,  Madge.  That  relieves  us 
of  the  discomfort  of  being  lhe  last  car,  and 
yet  lets  you  have  the  scenery  and  moonlight." 

Miss  Cullen  looked  at  her  father  for  a 
moment  as  if  not  believing  what  she  had 
heard.  Lord  Ralles  scowled  and  opened  his 
mouth  to  say  something,  but  checked  himself, 
and  only  flung  his  discard  down  as  if  he 
hated  the  cards. 

"  Thank  you,  papa,"  responded  Miss  Cul 
len,  "  but  I  think  I  will  watch  you  play." 

"  Now,  Madge,  don't  be  foolish,"  said 
Mr.  Cullen,  irritably.  "  You  might  just  as 
well  have  the  pleasure,  and  you'll  only  dis 
turb  the  game  if  you  stay  here." 

Miss  Cullen  leaned  over  and  whispered 
21 


THE   GREAT 

something,  and  her  father  answered  her. 
Lord  Ralles  must  have  heard,  for  he  mut 
tered  something,  which  made  Miss  Cullen 
color  up ;  but  much  good  it  did  him,  for  she 
turned  to  me  and  said,  "  Since  my  father 
does  n't  disapprove,  I  will  gladly  accept  your 
hospitality,  Mr.  Gordon,"  and  after  a  glance 
at  Lord  Ralles  that  had  a  challenging  "  I  'U 
do  as  I  please  "  in  it,  she  went  to  get  her  hat 
and  coat.  The' whole  incident  had  not  taken 
ten  seconds,  yet  it  puzzled  me  beyond  meas 
ure,  even  while  my  heart  beat  with  an  un 
reasonable  hope ;  for  my  better  sense  told  me 
that  it  simply  meant  that  Lord  Ralles  disap 
proved,  and  Miss  Cullen,  like  any  girl  of 
spirit,  was  giving  him  notice  that  he  was  not 
yet  privileged  to  control  her  actions.  What 
ever  the  scene  meant,  his  lordship  did  not 
like  it,  for  he  swore  at  his  luck  the  moment 
Miss  Cullen  had  left  the  room. 

When  Miss  Cullen  returned  we  went  back 
to  the  rear  platform  of  97.  I  let  down  the 
traps,  closed  the  gates,  got  a  camp-stool  for 
her  to  sit  upon,  with  a  cushion  to  lean  back  on, 

22 


K.   &   A.    TRAIN-ROBBERY 

and  a  footstool,  and  fixed  her  as  comfortably 
as  I  could,  even  getting  a  travelling-rug  to 
cover  her  lap,  for  the  plateau  air  was  chilly. 
Then  I  hesitated  a  moment,  for  I  had  the 
feeling  that  she  had  not  thoroughly  approved 
of  the  thing  and  therefore  she  might  not  like 
to  have  me  stay.  Yet  she  was  so  charming 
in  the  moonlight,  and  the  little  balcony  the 
platform  made  was  such  a  tempting  spot  to 
linger  on,  while  she  was  there,'  that  it  was  n't 
easy  to  go.  Finally  I  asked,  — 

"  You  are  quite  comfortable,  Miss  Cullen  ? " 

"  Sinfully  so,"  she  laughed. 

"  Then  perhaps  you  would  like  to  be  left 
to  enjoy  the  moonlight  and  your  meditations 
by  yourself?  "  I  questioned.  I  knew  I  ought 
to  have  just  gone  away,  but  I  simply  could  n't 
when  she  looked  so  enticing. 

"  Do  you  want  to  go  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No  !  "  I  ejaculated,  so  forcibly  that  she 
gave  a  little  startled  jump  in  her  chair. 
"  That  is  —  I  mean,"  I  stuttered,  embar 
rassed  by  my  own  vehemence,  "  I  rathei 
thought  you  might  not  want  me  to  stay." 
23 


THE   GREAT 

tt  What  made  you  think  that  ?  "  she 
demanded. 

I  never  was  a  good  hand  at  inventing  ex 
planations,  and  after  a  moment's  seeking  for 
some  reason,  I  plumped  out,  "  Because  I 
feared  you  might  not  think  ii  proper  to  use 
my  car,  and  I  suppose  it 's  my  presence  that 
made  you  think  it." 

She  took  my  stupid  fumble  very  nicely^ 
laughing  merrily  while  saying,  "  If  you  like 
mountains  and  moonlight,  Mr.  Gordon,  and 
don't  mind  the  lack  of  a  chaperon,  get  a  stool 
for  yourself,  too."  What  was  more,  she 
offered  me  half  of  the  lap-robe  when  I  was 
seated  beside  her. 

I  think  she  was  pleased  by  my  offer  to  go 
away,  for  she  talked  very  pleasantly,  and  far 
more  intimately  than  she  had  ever  done  be 
fore,  telling  me  facts  about  her  family,  her 
Chicago  life,  her  travels,  and  even  her 
thoughts.  From  this  I  learned  that  her  elder 
brother  was  an  Oxford  graduate,  and  that 
Lord  Ralles  and  his  brother  were  classmates, 
who  were  visiting  him  for  the  first  time  since 
24 


K.  &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

he  had  graduated.  She  asked  me  some  ques 
tions  about  my  work,  which  led  me  to  tell 
her  pretty  much  everything  about  myself  that 
I  thought  could  be  of  the  least  interest ;  and 
it  was  a  very  pleasant  surprise  to  me  to  find 
that  she  knew  one  of  the  old  team,  and  had 
even  heard  of  me  from  him. 

**  Why,"  she  exclaimed,  **  how  absurd  of 
me  not  to  have  thought  of  it  before !  But, 
you  see,  Mr.  Colston  always  speaks  of  you 
by  your  first  name.  You  ought  to  hear  how 
he  praises  you." 

"  Trust  Harry  to  praise  any  one,"  I  said. 
"  There  were  some  pretty  low  fellows  on  the 
old  team,  —  men  who  could  n't  keep  their 
word  or  their  tempers,  and  would  slug  every 
chance  they  got ;  but  Harry  used  to  insist 
there  wasn't  a  bad  egg  among  the  lot." 

"  Don't  you  find  it  very  lonely  to  live  out 
here,  away  from  all  your  old  friends  ?  "  she 
asked. 

I  had  to  acknowledge  that  it  was,  and  told 
her  the  worst  part  was  the  absence  of  pleas 
ant  women.  "Till  you  arrived,  Miss  Cul- 
25 


THE   GREAT 

fen,"  I  said,  "  I  had  n't  seen  a  well-gowned 
woman  in  four  years."  I  've  always  noticed 
that  a  woman  would  rather  have  a  man 
notice  and  praise  her  frock  than  her  beauty, 
and  Miss  Cullen  was  apparently  no  excep 
tion,  for  I  could  see  the  remark  pleased  her. 

"  Don't  Western  women  ever  get  Eastern 
gowns  ?  "  she  asked. 

"Any  quantity,"  I  said,  "but  you  know, 
Miss  Cullen,  that  it  is  n't  the  gown,  but  the 
way  it 's  worn,  that  gives  the  artistic  touch." 
For  a  fellow  who  had  devoted  the  last  seven 
years  of  his  life  to  grades  and  fuel  and  rebates 
and  pay-rolls,  I  don't  think  that  was  bad.  At 
least  it  made  Miss  Cullen's  mouth  dimple  at 
the  corners. 

The  whole  evening  was  so  eminently 
satisfactory  that  I  almost  believe  I  should 
be  talking  yet,  if  interruption  had  not  come. 
The  first  premonition  of  it  was  Miss  Cullen's 
giving  a  little  shiver,  which  made  me  ask  if 
she  was  cold. 

"Not  at    all,"    she  replied.     "I    only — • 
what  place  are  we  stopping  at  ? " 
26 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

I  started  to  rise,  but  she  checked  the 
movement  and  said,  "  Don't  trouble  your 
self.  I  thought  you  would  know  without 
moving.  I  really  don't  care  to  know." 

I  took  out  my  watch,  and  was  startled  to 
find  it  was  twenty  minutes  past  twelve.  I 
was  n't  so  green  as  to  tell  Miss  Cullen  so, 
and  merely  said,  "  By  the  time,  this  must  be 
Sanders." 

"  Do  we  stop  long  ?  "  she  asked. 

«'  Only  to  take  water,"  I  told  her,  and 
then  went  on  with  what  I  had  been  speaking 
about  when  she  shivered.  But  as  I  talked 
it  slowly  dawned  on  me  that  we  had  been 
standing  still  some  time,  and  presently  I 
stopped  speaking  and  glanced  off,  expecting 
to  recognize  something,  only  to  see  alkali 
plain  on  both  sides.  A  little  surprised,  I 
looked  down,  to  find  no  siding.  Rising 
hastily,  I  looked  out  forward.  I  could  see 
moving  figures  on  each  side  of  the  train,  but 
that  meant  nothing,  as  the  train's  crew,  and, 
for  that  matter,  passengers,  are  very  apt  to 
alight  at  every  stop.  What  did  mean  some- 
ay 


THE   GREAT 

thing  was  that  there  was  no  water-tank,  no 
station,  nor  any  other  visible  cause  for  a 
stop. 

"Is  anything  the  matter?"  asked  Miss 
Cullen. 

"  1  think  something 's  wrong  with  the 
engine  or  the  road-bed,  Miss  Cullen,"  I 
said,  "  and,  if  you  '11  excuse  me  a  moment, 
I  '11  go  forward  and  see." 

I  had  barely  spoken  when  "  bang  !  bang  !  " 
went  two  shots.  That  they  were  both  fired 
from  an  English  "  express  "  my  ears  told  me, 
for  no  other  people  in  this  world  make  a 
mountain  howitzer  and  call  it  a  rifle. 

Hardly  were  the  two  shots  fired  when 
"  crack  !  crack  !  crack  !  crack  !  "  went  some 
Winchesters. 

"  Oh !  what  is  it  ?  "  cried  Miss  Cullen. 

"  I  think  your  wish  has  been  granted," 
I  answered  hurriedly.  "  We  are  being 
held  up,  and  Lord  Ralles  is  showing  us 
how  to  —  " 

My  speech  was  interrupted.  "  Bang ! 
bang  !  "  challenged  another  "  express,"  the 
28 


K.   &   A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

shots  so  close  together  as  to  be  almost 
simultaneous.  "  Crack !  crack !  crack  !  " 
retorted  the  Winchesters,  and  from  the 
fact  that  silence  followed  1  drew  a  clear 
inference.  I  said  to  myself,  "That  is  an 
end  of  poor  John  Bull." 


THE   GREAT 

CHAPTER   III 
A  NIGHT'S  WORK  ON  THE  ALKALI  PLAINS 

I  HURRIED  Miss  Cullen  into  the  car,  and, 
after  bolting  the  rear  door,  took  down  my 
Winchester  from  its  rack. 

"  I  'm  going  forward,"  I  told  her,  "  and 
will  tell  my  darkies  to  bolt  the  front  door: 
so  you  '11  be  as  safe  in  here  as  in  Chicago." 

In  another  minute  I  was  on  my  front 
platform.  Dropping  down  between  the 
two  cars,  I  crept  along  beside  —  indeed, 
half  under  —  Mr.  Cullen's  special.  After 
my  previous  conclusion,  my  surprise  can  be 
judged  when  at  the  farther  end  I  found  the 
two  Britishers  and  Albert  Cullen,  standing 
there  in  the  most  exposed  position  possible, 
I  joined  them,  muttering  to  myself  some- 
thin^  about  Providence  and  fools. 

"  Aw,"  drawled  Cullen, "  here  's  Mr.  Gor 
don,  just  too  late  for  the  sport,  by  Jove." 
30 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

« Well,"  bragged  Lord  Ralles,  "  we  've 
had  a  hand  in  this  deal,  Mr.  Superintendent, 
and  have  n't  been  potted.  The  scoundrels 
broke  for  cover  the  moment  we  opened 
fire." 

By  this  time  there  were  twenty  passengers 
about  our  group,  all  of  them  asking  questions 
at  once,  making  it  difficult  to  learn  just  what 
had  happened ;  but,  so  far  as  I  could  piece 
the  answers  together,  the  poker-players' 
curiosity  had  been  aroused  by  the  long 
stop,  and,  looking  out,  they  had  seen  a 
single  man  with  a  rifle,  standing  by  the 
engine.  Instantly  arming  themselves,  Lord 
Ralles  let  fly  both  barrels  at  him,  and  in 
turn  was  the  target  for  the  first  four  shots 
I  had  heard.  The  shooting  had  brought  the 
rest  of  the  robbers  tumbling  off"  the  cars, 
and  the  captain  and  Cullen  had  fired  the 
rest  of  the  shots  at  them  as  they  scattered. 
I  did  n't  stop  to  hear  more,  but  went  forward 
to  see  what  the  road  agents  had  got  away 
with. 

I  found  the  express  agent  tied  hand  and 
31 


THE   GREAT 

foot  in  the  corner  of  his  car,  and,  telling  a 
brakeman  who  had  followed  me  to  set  him 
at  liberty,  I  turned  my  attention  to  the  safe. 
That  the  diversion  had  not  come  a  moment 
too  soon  was  shown  by  the  dynamite  car 
tridge  already  in  place,  and  by  the  fuse  that 
lay  on  the  floor,  as  if  dropped  suddenly. 
But  the  safe  was  intact. 

Passing  into  the  mail-car,  I  found  the 
clerk  tied  to  a  post,  with  a  mail-sack  pulled 
over  his  head,  and  the  utmost  confusion 
among  the  pouches  and  sorting-compart 
ments,  while  scattered  over  the  floor  were 
a  great  many  letters.  Setting  him  at  liberty, 
I  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  whether  mail 
had  been  taken,  and,  after  a  glance  at  the 
confusion,  he  said  he  could  not  know  til) 
he  had  examined. 

Having  taken  stock  of  the  harm  done,  I 
began  asking  questions.  Just  after  we  had 
left  Sanders,  two  masked  men  had  entered 
the  mail-car,  and  while  one  covered  the  clerk 
with  a  revolver  the  other  had  tied  and 
u  sacked  "  him.  Two  more  had  gone  for- 
32 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

ward  and  done  the  same  to  the  express  agent. 
Another  had  climbed  over  the  tender  and 
ordered  the  runner  to  hold  up.  All  this  was 
regular  programme,  as  I  had  explained  to 
Miss  Cullen,  but  here  had  been  a  variation 
which  I  had  never  heard  of  being  done,  and 
of  which  I  could  n't  fathom  the  object. 
When  the  train  had  been  stopped,  the  man 
on  the  tender  had  ordered  the  fireman  to 
dump  his  fire,  and  now  it  was  lying  in  the 
road-bed  and  threatening  to  burn  through 
the  ties;  so  my  first  order  was  to  extinguish 
it,  and  my  second  was  to  start  a  new  fire 
and  get  up  steam  as  quickly  as  possible. 
From  all  I  could  learn,  there  were  eight 
men  concerned  in  the  attempt ;  and  1 
confess  I  shook  my  head  in  puzzlement 
why  that  number  should  have  allowed 
themselves"  to  be  scared  off  so  easily. 

My  wonderment  grew  when  I  called  on 
the  conductor  for  his  tickets.  These  showed 
nothing  but  two  from  Albuquerque,  one  from 
Laguna,  and  four  from  Coolidge.  This  lat 
ter  would  have  looked  hopeful  but  for  the 
3  33 


THE    GREAT 

fact  that  it  was  a  party  of  three  women  anC 
a  man.  Going  back  beyond  Lamy  did  n't 
give  anything,  for  the  conductor  was  able  to 
account  for  every  fare  as  either  still  in  the 
train  or  as  having  got  off  at  some  point. 
My  only  conclusion  was  that  the  robbers  had 
sneaked  onto  the  platforms  at  Sanders  j  and 
I  gave  the  crew  a  good  dressing  down  for 
their  carelessness.  Of  course  they  insisted 
it  was  impossible ;  but  they  were  bound  to  do 
that. 

Going  back  to  97,  I  got  my  telegraph 
instrument,  though  I  thought  it  a  waste  of 
time,  the  road  agents  being  always  careful  to 
break  the  lines.  I  told  a  brakeman  to  climb 
the  pole  and  cut  a  wire.  While  he  was 
struggling  up,  Miss  Cullen  joined  me. 

"  Do  you  really  expect  to  catch  them  ?  " 
she  asked. 

"  I  should  n't  like  to  be  one  of  them,"  I 
repli.d. 

"  But  how  can  you  do  it  ?  " 

"  You  could  understand  better,  Miss 
Cullen,  if  you  knew  this  country.  You  see 
34 


K.    &    A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

every  bit  of  water  is  in  use  by  ranches,  and 
those  fellows  can't  go  more  than  fifty  miles 
without  watering.  So  we  shall  have  word 
of  them,  wherever  they  go." 

"  Line  cut,  Mr.  Gordon,"  came  from 
overhead  at  this  point,  making  Miss  Cullen 
jump  with  surprise. 

"  What  was  that  ?  "  she  asked. 

I  explained  to  her,  and,  after  making  con 
nections,  I  called  Sanders.  Much  to  my 
surprise,  the  agent  responded.  I  was  so 
astonished  that  for  a  moment  I  could  not  be 
lieve  the  fact. 

"  This  is  the  queerest  hold-up  of  which  1 
ever  heard,"  I  remarked  to  Miss  Cullen. 

"  Aw,  in  what  respect  ?  "  asked  Albert 
Cullen's  voice,  and,  looking  up,  I  found  that 
he  and  quite  a  number  of  the  passengers  had 
joined  us. 

"  The  road  agents  make  us  dump  our 
fire,"  I  said,  "  and  yet  they  have  n't  cut  the 
wires  in  either  direction.  I  can't  see  how 
they  can  escape  us." 

"  What  fun  !  "  cried  Miss  Cullen. 
35 


THE    GREAT 

**  I  don't  see  what  difference  either  makes  in 
their  chance  of  escaping,"  said  Lord  Ralles. 

While  he  was  speaking,  I  ticked  off  the 
news  of  our  being  held  up,  and  asked  the 
agent  if  there  had  been  any  men  about 
Sanders,  or  if  he  had  seen  any  one  board 
the  train  there.  His  answer  was  positive 
that  no  one  could  have  done  so,  and  that 
settled  it  as  to  Sanders.  I  asked  the  same 
questions  of  Allantown  and  Wingate,  which 
were  the  only  places  we  had  stopped  at  after 
leaving  Coolidge,  getting  the  same  answers. 
That  eight  men  could  have  remained  con 
cealed  on  any  of  the  platforms  from  that 
point  was  impossible,  and  I  began  to  suspect 
magic.  Then  I  called  Coolidge,  and  told  of 
the  holding  up,  after  which  I  telegraphed  the 
agent  at  Navajo  Springs  to  notify  the  com 
mander  at  Fort  Defiance,  for  I  suspected  the 
road  agents  would  make  for  the  Navajo 
reservation.  Finally  I  called  Flagstaff  as  I 
had  Coolidge,  directed  that  the  authorities  be 
notified  of  the  facts,  and  ordered  an  extra  to 
bring  out  the  sheriff  and  posse. 
36 


K.    &   A.    TRAIN-ROBBERY 

"  I  don't  think,"  said  Miss  Cullen,  "  that 
1  am  a  bit  more  curious  than  most  people, 
but  it  has  nearly  made  me  frantic  to  have 
you  tick  away  on  that  little  machine  and 
hear  it  tick  back,  and  not  understand  a 
word." 

After  that  I  had  to  tell  her  what  I  had 
said  and  learned. 

"  How  clever  of  you  to  think  of  counting 
the  tickets  and  finding  out  where  people  got 
on  and  off!  I  never  should  have  thought  of 
either,"  she  said. 

"  It  has  n't  helped  me  much,"  I  laughed, 
rather  grimly,  "  except  to  eliminate  every 
possible  clue." 

"  They  probably  did  steal  on  at  one  of  the 
stops,"  suggested  a  passenger. 

I  shook  my  head.  "  There  is  n't  a  stick 
of  timber  nor  a  place  of  concealment  on 
these  alkali  plains,"  I  replied,  "  and  it  was 
bright  moonlight  till  an  hour  ago.  It  would 
be  hard  enough  for  one  man  to  get  within  a 
mile  of  the  station  without  being  seen,  and  it 
would  be  impossible  for  seven  or  eight." 
37 


THE   GREAT 

w  How  do  you  know  the  number  ?  "  asked 
a  passenger. 

u  I  don't,"  I  said.  "  That 's  the  number 
the  crew  think  there  were;  but  I  myself 
don't  believe  it." 

"  Why  don't  you  believe  the  men  ?  " 
asked  Miss  Cullen. 

"  First,  because  there  is  always  a  ten 
dency  to  magnify,  and  next,  because  the 
road  agents  ran  away  so  quickly." 

"  I  counted  at  least  seven,"  asserted  Lord 
Ralles. 

"  Well,  Lord  Ralles,"  I  said,  «  I  don't 
want  to  dispute  your  eyesight,  but  if  they 
had  been  that  strong  they  would  never  have 
bolted,  and  if  you  want  to  lay  a  bottle  of 
wine,  I  '11  wager  that  when  I  catch  those 
chaps  we  '11  find  there  were  n't  more  than 
three  or  four  of  them." 

"  Done  !  "  he  snapped. 

Leaving  the  group,  I  went  forward  to  get 

the  report  of  the   mail   agent.      He  had  put 

things  to  rights,  and  told  me  that,  though  the 

mail  had   been   pretty  badly  mixed  up,  only 

33 


K.    &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

one  pouch  at  worst  had  been  rifled.  This 
—  the  one  for  registered  mail  —  had  been 
cut  open,  but,  as  if  to  increase  the  mystery, 
the  letters  had  been  scattered,  unopened, 
about  the  car,  only  three  out  of  the  whole 
being  missing,  and  those  very  probably  had 
fallen  into  the  pigeon-holes  and  would  be 
found  on  a  more  careful  search. 

I  confess  I  breathed  easier  to  think  that 
the  road  agents  had  got  away  with  not.  .ng, 
and  was  so  pleased  that  I  went  back  to  the 
wire  to  send  the  news  of  it,  that  the  fact 
might  be  included  in  the  press  despatches. 
The  moon  had  set,  and  it  was  so  dark  that 
I  had  some  difficulty  in  finding  the  pole. 
When  I  found  it,  Miss  Cullen  was  still 
standing  there.  What  was  more,  a  man  was 

o  * 

lose  beside  her,  and  as    I   came   up  I  heard 
her  say,  indignantly, — 

"  I  will  not  allow  it.  It  i?  unfair  to  take 
such  advantage  of  me.  Take  your  arm 
away,  or  I  shall  call  for  help  ' 

That    was    enough    for     me.      One    step 
carried   my  hundred   and  sixty   pounds   over 
39 


THE   GREAT 

the  intervening  ground,  and,  using  the  mo 
mentum  of  the  stride  to  help,  I  put  the  flat 
of  my  hand  against  the  shoulder  of  the  mar* 
and  gave  him  a  shove.  There  are  three  or 
four  Harvard  men  who  can  tell  what  that 
means,  and  they  were  braced  for  it,  which 
this  fellow  was  n't.  He  went  staggering 
back  as  if  struck  by  a  cow-catcher,  and  lay 
down  on  the  ground  a  good  fifteen  feet 
away.  His  having  his  arm  around  Miss 
Cullen's  waist  unsteadied  her  so  that  she 
would  have  fallen  too  if  I  had  n't  put  my 
hand  against  her  shoulder.  I  longed  to  put 
it  about  her,  but  by  this  time  I  did  n't  want 
to  please  myself,  but  to  do  only  what  I 
thought  she  would  wish,  and  x>  restrained 
myself. 

Before  I  had  time  to  finish  an  apology 
to  Miss  Cullcn  the  fellow  was  up  on  his 
feet,  and  cam?  at  me  with  an  exclamation 
of  anger.  In  my  surprise  at  recognizing  the 
voice  as  that  of  Lord  Ralles,  I  almost  neglected 
to  take  care  of  myself;  but,  though  he  wa's 
quick  with  his  fists,  I  caught  him  by  the 
40 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

wrists  as  he  closed,  and   he   had  no  chance 
after  that  against  a  fellow  of  my  weight. 

"  Oh,  don't  quarrel !  "   cried  Miss  Cullen. 

Holding  him,  I  said,  "  Lord  Ralles,  I  over 
heard  what  Miss  Cullen  was  saying,  and, 
supposing  some  man  was  insulting  her,  I 
acted  as  I  did."  Then  I  let  go  of  him,  and, 
turning,  I  continued,  "  I  am  very  sorry,  Miss 
Cullen,  if  I  did  anything  the  circumstances 
did  not  warrant,"  while  cursing  myself  for 
my  precipitancy  and  for  not  thinking  that 
Miss  Cullen  would  never  have  been  caught 
in  such  a  plight  with  a  man  unless  she  had 
been  half  willing ;  for  a  girl  does  not  merely 
threaten  to  call  for  help  if  she  really  wants 
aid. 

Lord  Ralles  was  n't  much  mollified  by  my 
explanation.  "  You  're  too  much  in  a  hurry, 
my  man,"  he  growled,  speaking  to  me  as  if 
I  were  a  servant.  "  Be  a  bit  more  careful  in 
the  future." 

I  think  I  should  have  retorted  —  for  his 
manner  was  enough  to  make  a  saint  mad  — 
if  Miss  Cullen  had  n't  spoken. 
41 


.      THE   GREAT 

**  You  tried  to  help  me,  Mr.  Gordon,  and 
I  am  deeply  grateful  for  that,"  she  said.  The 
words  look  simple  enough  set  down  here. 
But  the  tone  in  which  she  said  them,  and  the 
extended  hand  and  the  grateful  little  squeeze 
she  gave  my  fingers,  all  seemed  to  express  so 
much  that  I  was  more  puzzled  over  them 
than  I  was  over  the  robbery. 


K.  &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 


CHAPTER   IV 

SOME    RATHER    QUEER    ROAD    AGENTS 

*  You  had  better  come  back  to  the  car,  Miss 
Cullen,"  remarked  Lord  Ralles,  after  a 
pause. 

But  she  declined  to  do  so,  saying  she 
wanted  to  know  what  I  was  going  to  tele 
graph  ;  and  he  left  us,  for  which  I  was  n't 
sorry.  I  told  her  of  the  good  news  I  had  to 
send,  and  she  wanted  to  know  if  now  we 
would  try  to  catch  the  road  agents.  I  set 
her  mind  at  rest  on  that  score. 

"  I  think  they  '!!  give  us  very  little  trouble 
to  bag,"  I  added,  "  for  they  are  so  green  that 
it 's  almost  pitiful." 

"  In  not  cutting  the  wires  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  In  everything,"  I  replied.  "  But  the 
worst  botch  is  their  waiting  till  we  had  just 
passed  the  Arizona  line.  If  they  had  held 
43 


THE   GREAT 

us  up  an  hour  earlier,  it  would  only  have 
been  State's  prison." 

"  And  what  will  it  be  now  ?  '* 

"  Hanging." 

«  What  ?  "  cried  Miss  Cullen. 

"  In  New  Mexico  train-robbing  is  not 
capital,  but  in  Arizona  it  is,"  I  told  her. 

"  And  if  you  catch  them  they  '11  be  hung  ?  " 
she  asked. 

«  Yes." 

u  That  seems  very  hard." 

The  first  signs  of  dawn  were  beginning  to 
show  by  this  time,  and  as  the  sky  brightened 
I  told  Miss  Cullen  that  I  was  going  to  look 
for  the  trail  of  the  fugitives.  She  said  she 
would  walk  with  me,  if  not  in  the  way,  and 
my  assurance  was  very  positive  on  that  point. 
And  here  I  want  to  remark  that  it 's  saying  a 
good  deal  if  a  girl  can  be  up  all  night  in  such 
excitement  and  still  look  fresh  and  pretty, 
and  that  she  did. 

I  ordered  the  crew  to  look  about,  and  then 
began  a  big  circle  around  the  train.  Finding 
nothing,  I  swung  a  bigger  one.  That  being 
44 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

equally  unavailing,  I  did  a  larger  third.  Not 
a  trace  of  foot  or  hoof  within  a  half-mile  of 
the  cars !  I  had  heard  of  blankets  laid  down 
to  conceal  a  trail,  of  swathed  feet,  even  of 
leathern  horse-boots  with  cattle-hoofs  on  the 
bottom,  but  none  of  these  could  have  been 
used  for  such  a  distance,  let  alone  the  en 
tire  absence  of  any  signs  of  a  place  where 
the  horses  had  been  hobbled.  Returning 
to  the  train,  the  report  of  the  men  was  the 
same. 

"  We  've  ghost  road  agents  to  deal  with, 
Miss  Cullen,"  I  laughed.  "  They  come 
from  nowhere,  bullets  touch  them  not,  their 
lead  hurts  nobody,  they  take  nothing,  and 
they  disappear  without  touching  the  ground." 

"  How  curious  it  is ! "  she  exclaimed. 
"  One  would  almost  suppose  it  a  dream." 

"  Hold  on,"  I  said.  "  We  do  have  some 
thing  tangible,  for  if  they  disappeared  they 
left  their  shells  behind  them."  And  I  pointed 
to  some  cartridge-shells  that  lay  on  the  ground 
beside  the  mail-car.  "  My  theory  of  aerial 
bullets  won't  do.'? 

45 


THE    GREAT 

"  The  shells  are  as  hollow  as  I  feel," 
laughed  Miss  Cullen. 

u  Your  suggestion  reminds  me  that  I  am 
desperately  hungry,"  I  said.  "  Suppose  we 
go  back  and  end  the  famine." 

Most  of  the  passengers  had  long  since 
returned  to  their  seats  or  berths,  and  Mr. 
Cullen's  party  had  apparently  done  the  same, 
for  218  showed  no  signs  of  life.  One  of  my 
darkies  was  awake,  and  he  broiled  a  steak 
and  made  us  some  coffee  in  no  time,  and  just 
as  they  were  ready  Albert  Cullen  appeared, 
so  we  made  a  very  jolly  little  breakfast.  He 
told  me  at  length  the  part  he  and  the  Britishers 
had  borne,  and  only  made  me  marvel  the 
more  that  any  one  of  them  was  alive,  for 
apparently  they  had  jumped  off  the  car  with 
out  the  slightest  precaution,  and  had  stood 
grouped  together,  even  after  they  had  called 
attention  to  themselves  by  Lord  Ralles's  shots. 
Cullen  had  to  confess  that  he  heard  the 
whistle  of  the  four  bullets  unpleasantly 
close. 

"  You  have  a  right  to  be  proud,  Mr. 
46 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

Cullen,"  I  said.  "  You  fellows  did  a  tre- 
mendously  plucky  thing,  and,  thanks  to  you, 
we  did  n't  lose  anything." 

"  But  you  went  to  help  too,  Mr.  Gordon," 
added  Miss  Cullen. 

That  made  me  color  up,  and,  after  a 
moment's  hesitation,  I  said, — 

"  I  'm  not  going  to  sail  under  false  colors, 
Miss  Cullen.  When  I  went  forward  I 
did  n't  think  I  could  do  anything.  I  sup 
posed  whoever  had  pitched  into  the  robbers 
was  dead,  and  I  expected  to  be  the  same 
inside  of  ten  minutes." 

"  Then  why  did  you  risk  your  life,"  she 
asked,  "  if  you  thought  it  was  useless  ?  " 

I  laughed,  and,  though  ashamed  to  tell 
it,  replied,  "  I  did  n't  want  you  to  think 
that  the  Britishers  had  more  pluck  than  I 
had." 

She  took  my  confession  better  than  I 
hoped  she  would,  laughing  with  me,  and  then 
said,  "  Well,  that  was  courageous,  after  all." 

"  Yes,"  I  confessed,  u  I  was  frightened 
into  bravery." 

47 


THE    GREAT 

**  Perhaps  if  they  had  known  the  danger 
as  well  as  you,  they  would  have  been  less 
courageous,"  she  continued ;  and  I  could 
have  blessed  her  for  the  speech. 

While  we  were  still  eating,  the  mail  clerk 
came  to  my  car  and  reported  that  the  most 
careful  search  had  failed  to  discover  the  three 
registered  letters,  and  they  had  evidently  been 
taken.  This  made  me  feel  sober,  slight  as 
the  probable  loss  was.  He  told  me  that  his 
list  showed  they  were  all  addressed  to  Ash 
Forks,  Arizona,  making  it  improbable  that 
their  contents  could  be  of  any  real  value. 
If  possible,  I  was  more  puzzled  than  ever. 

At  six-ten  the  runner  whistled  to  show  he 
had  steam  up.  I  told  one  of  the  brakemen 
to  stay  behind,  and  then  went  into  218.  Mr. 
Cullen  was  still  dressing,  but  I  expressed  my 
regrets  through  the  door  that  I  could  not  go 
with  his  party  to  the  Grand  Canon,  told  him 
that  all  the  stage  arrangements  had  been 
completed,  and  promised  to  join  him  there 
in  case  my  luck  was  good.  Then  I  saw 
Frederic  for  a  moment,  to  see  how  he  wa« 
48 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

(for  I  had  nearly  forgotten  him  in  the  ex 
citement),  to  find  that  he  was  gaining  all  the 
time,  and  preparing  even  to  get  up.  When 
I  returned  to  the  saloon,  the  rest  of  the 
party  were  there,  and  I  bade  good-bye  to 
the  captain  and  Albert.  Then  I  turned 
to  Lord  Ralles,  and,  holding  out  my  hand, 
said,  — 

"Lord  Ralles,  I  joked  a  little  the  other 
morning  about  the  way  you  thought  road 
agents  ought  to  be  treated.  You  have  turned 
the  joke  very  neatly  and  pluckily,  and  I  want 
to  apologize  for  myself  and  thank  you  for 
the  railroad." 

"  Neither  is  necessary,"  he  retorted  airily, 
pretending  not  to  see  my  hand. 

I  never  claimed  to  have  a  good  temper, 
and  it  was  all  I  could  do  to  hold  myself  in. 
I  turned  to  Miss  Cullen  to  wish  her  a  pleas 
ant  trip,  and  the  thought  that  this  might  be 
our  last  meeting  made  me  forget  even  Lord 
Ralles. 

w  I  hope  it  is  n't  good-bye,  but  only  au 
revo'ir,"  she  said.  "  Whether  or  no,  you 
4  49 


THE   GREAT 

must  let  us  see  you  some  time  in  Chicago, 
so  that  I  may  show  you  how  grateful  I  am 
for  all  the  pleasure  you  have  added  to  our 
trip."  Then,  as  I  stepped  down  off  my  plat 
form,  she  leaned  over  the  rail  of  218,  and 
added,  in  a  low  voice,  "  I  thought  you  were 
just  as  brave  as  the  rest,  Mr.  Gordon,  and 
now  I  think  you  are  braver." 

I  turned  impulsively,  and  said,  "  You 
would  think  so,  Miss  Cullen,  if  you  knew 
the  sacrifice  I  am  making."  Then,  without 
looking  at  her,  I  gave  the  signal,  the  bell 
rang,  and  No.  3  pulled  off.  The  last  thing 
I  saw  was  a  handkerchief  waving  off  the 
pktform  of  218. 

When  the  train  dropped  out^  of  sight  over 
a  grade,  I  swallowed  the  lump  in  my  throat 
and  went  to  the  telegraph  instrument.  I 
wired  Coolidge  to  give  the  alarm  to  Fort 
Wingate,  Fort  Apache,  Fort  Thomas,  Fort 
Grant,  Fort  Bayard,  and  Fort  Whipple, 
though  I  thought  the  precaution  a  mere  waste 
of  energy.  Then  I  sent  the  brakeman  up 
to  connect  the  cut  wire. 
SO 


K.   &    A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

u  Two  of  the  bullets  struck  up  here,  Mr. 
Gordon,"  the  man  called  from  the  top  of 
the  pole. 

"  Surely  not !  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Yes,  sir,"  he  responded.  "  The  buHet» 
holes  are  brand-new." 

I  took  in  the  lay  of  the  land,  the  ember* 
of  the  fire  showing  me  how  the  train  had  lain. 
u  I  don't  wonder  nobody  was  hit,"  I  ex 
claimed,  "  if  that 's  a  sample  of  their  shooting. 
Some  one  was  a  worse  rattled  man  than  I 
ever  expect  to  be.  Dig  the  bullets  out, 
Douglas,  so  that  we  can  have  a  look  at 
them." 

He  brought  them  down  in  a  minute. 
They  proved  .to  be  Winchesters,  as  I  ha«i 
expected,  for  they  were  on  the  side  from 
which  the  robbers  must  have  fired. 

"That  chap  must  have  been  full  of 
Arizona  tangle-foot,  to  have  fired  as  wild  as 
he  did,"  I  ejaculated,  and  walked  over  to 
where  the  mail-car  had  stood,  to  see  just  how 
bad  the  shooting  was.  When  I  got  there 
and  faced  about,  it  was  really  impossible  to 


THE   GREAT 

Relieve  any  man  could  have  done  so  badly, 
for  raising  my  own  Winchester  to  the  pole 
put  it  twenty  degrees  out  of  range  and  nearly 
forty  degrees  in  the  air.  Yet  there  were  the 
cartridge-shells  on  the  ground,  to  show  that 
I  was  in  the  place  from  which  the  shots  had 
been  fired. 

While  I  was  still  cogitating  over  this,  the 
special  train  I  had  ordered  out  from  Flagstaff 
came  in  sight,  and  in  a  few  moments  was 
stopped  where  I  was.  It  consisted  of  a 
string  of  three  flats  and  a  box  car,  and  brought 
the  sheriff,  a  dozen  cowboys  whom  he  had 
sworn  in  as  deputies,  and  their  horses.  I 
was  hopeful  that  with  these  feflows'  greater 
skill  in  such  matters  they  could  find  what  J 
had  not,  but  after  a  thorough  examination  of 
the  ground  within  a  mile  of  the  robbery  they 
were  as  much  at  fault  as  I  had  been. 

"  Them  cusses  must  have  a  dugout  nigh 
abouts,  for  they  could  n't  'a'  got  away  without 
wings,"  the  sheriff  surmised. 

I  did  n't  put  much  stock  in  that  idea,  and 
told  the  sheriff  so. 

52 


K.  &   A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

tt  Waal,  round  up  a  better  one,"  was  hit 
retort. 

Not  being  able  to  do  that,  I  told  him  of 
the  bullets  in  the  telegraph  pole,  and  took 
him  over  to  where  the  mail  car  had  stood. 

"  Jerusalem  crickets  !  "  was  his  comment 
as  he  measured  the  aim.  "  If  that's  where 
they  put  two  of  their  pills,  they  must  have 
pumped  the  other  four  inter  the  moon." 

"  What  other  four  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Shots,"  he  replied  sententiously. 

"  The  road  agents  only  fired  four  times,** 
I  told  him. 

u  Them  and  your  pards  must  have  been 
pretty  nigh  together  for  a  minute,  then,"  he 
said,  pointing  to  the  ground. 

I  glanced  down,  and  sure  enough,  there 
were  six  empty  cartridge-shells.  I  stood! 
looking  blankly  at  them,  hardly  able  to  be 
lieve  what  I  saw;  for  Albert  Cullen  had 
said  distinctly  that  the  train-robbers  had  fired 
only  four  times,  and  that  the  last  three  Win 
chester  shots  I  had  heard  had  been  fired  by 
himself.  Then,  without  speaking,  I  walked 
S3 


THE   GREAT 

slowly  back,  searching  along  the  edge  of  the 
road-bed  for  more  shells  ;  but,  though  I  went 
beyond  the  point  where  the  last  car  had 
stood,  not  one  did  I  find.  Any  man  who 
has  fired  a  Winchester  knows  that  it  drops 
its  empty  shell  in  loading,  and  I  could  there 
fore  draw  only  one  conclusion, —  namely, 
that  all  seven  discharges  of  the  Winchesters 
had  occurred  up  by  the  mail-car.  I  had 
heard  of  men  supposing  they  had  fired  their 
guns  through  hearing  another  go  off;  but 
with  a  repeating  rifle  one  has  to  fire  before 
one  can  reload.  The  fact  was  evident  that 
Albert  Cullen  either  had  fired  his  Winches 
ter  up  by  the  mail-car,  or  else  had  not  fired 
it  at  all.  In  either  case  he  had  lied,  and 
Lord  Ralles  and  Captain  Ackland  had  backed 
him  up  in  it. 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERr 


CHAPTER   V 


I  STOOD  pondering,  for  no  explanation  that 
would  fit  the  facts  seemed  possible,  I 
should  have  considered  the  young  fellow'i 
story  only  an  attempt  to  gain  a  little  reputa 
tion  for  pluck,  if  in  any  way  I  could  have 
accounted  for  the  appearance  and  disappear 
ance  of  the  robbers.  Yet  to  suppose — > 
which  seemed  the  only  other  horn  to  the 
dilemma  —  that  the  son  and  guests  of  the 
vice-president  of  the  Missouri  Western,  and 
one  of  our  own  directors,  would  be  concerned 
in  train-robbery  was  to  believe  something 
equally  improbable.  Indeed,  I  should  have 
put  the  whole  thing  down  as  a  practical 
joke  of  Mr.  Cullen's  party,  if  it  had  nor 
been  for  the  loss  of  the  registered  letters, 
Even  a  practical  joker  would  hardly  care  to 
55 


THE   GREAT 

go  to  the  length  of  cutting  open  government 
mail-pouches ;  for  Uncle  Sam  does  n't  ap 
prove  of  such  conduct. 

Whatever  the  explanation,  I  had  enough 
facts  to  prevent  me  from  wasting  more  time 
on  that  alkali  plain.  Getting  the  men  and 
horses  back  onto  the  cars,  I  jumped  up  on 
the  tail-board  and  ordered  the  runner  to  pull 
out  for  Flagstaff.  It  was  a  run  of  seven 
hours,  getting  us  in  a  little  after  eight,  and 
in  those  hours  I  had  done  a  lot  of  thinking 
which  had  all  come  to  one  result,  —  that 
Mr.  Cullen's  party  was  concerned  in  the 
hold-up. 

The  two  private  cars  were  on  a  siding, 
but  the  Cullens  had  left  for  the  Grand 
Canon  the  moment  they  had  arrived,  and 
were  about  reaching  there  by  this  time.  I 
went  to  218  and  questioned  the  cook  and 
waiter,  but  they  had  either  seen  nothing  or 
else  had  been  primed,  for  not  a  fact  did  I 
get  from  them.  Going  to  my  own  car,  I 
ordered  a  quick  supper,  and  while  I  was  eat 
ing  it  I  questioned  my  boy.  He  told  me 
56 


K.   &  A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

that  he  had  heard  the  shots,  and  had  bolted 
the  front  door  of  my  car,  as  I  had  ordered 
when  I  went  out ;  that  as  he  turned  to  go  to 
a  safer  place,  he  had  seen  a  man,  revolver  in 
hand,  climb  ovei  the  off-side  gate  of  Mr. 
Cullen's  car,  and  for  a  moment  he  had  sup 
posed  it  a  road  agent,  till  he  saw  that  it  was 
Albert  Cullen. 

"  That  was  just  after  I  had  got  off?  ** 
I  asked. 

«  Yis,  sah. 

"  Then  it  could  n't  have  been  Mr.  Cul 
len,  Jim,"  I  declared,  "  for  I  found  him  up 
at  the  other  end  of  the  car." 

"Tell  you  it  wuz,  Mr.  Gordon,"  Jim 
insisted.  "  I  done  seen  his  face  clar  in  de 
light,  and  he  done  go  into  Mr.  Cullen's  car 
whar  de  old  gentleman  wuz  sittin'." 

That  set  me  whistling  to  myself,  and  I 
laughed  to  think  how  near  I  had  come  to 
giving  nitroglycerin  to  a  fellow  who  was  only 
shamming  heart-failure  ;  for  that  it  was  Fred 
eric  Cullen  who  had  climbed  on  the  car  I 
hadn't  the  slightest  doubt,  the  resemblancf 
57 


THE    GREAT 

between  the  two  brothers  being  quite  strong 
enough  to  deceive  any  one  who  had  never 
«een  them  together.  I  smiled  a  little,  and 
remarked  to  myself,  "  I  think  I  can  make 
good  my  boast  that  I  would  catch  the  rob- 
oers ;  but  whether  the  Cullens  will  like  my 
doing  it,  I  question.  What  is  more,  Lord 
Ralles  will  owe  me  a  bottle."  Then  I 
fhought  of  Madge,  and  did  n't  feel  as  pleased 
over  my  success  as  I  had  felt  a  moment 
before. 

By  nine  o'clock  the  posse  and  I  were  in 
the  saddle  and  skirting  the  San  Francisco 
peaks.  There  was  no  use  of  pressing  the 
ponies,  for  our  game  was  n't  trying  to  es 
cape,  and,  for  that  matter,  could  n't,  as  the 
Colorado  River  was  n't  passable  within  fifty 
miles.  It  was  a  lovely  moonlight  night,  and 
the  ride  through  the  pines  was  as  pretty  a 
one  as  I  remember  ever  to  have  made.  It 
set  m«  thinking  of  Madge  and  of  our  talk 
the  evening  before,  and  of  what  a  change 
twenty-four  hours  had  brought.  It  was 
iucky  I  was  riding  an  Indian  pony,  or  I 
58 


K.   &  A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

•hould  probably  have  landed  in  a  heap.  I 
don't  know  that  I  should  have  cared  particu 
larly  if  a  prairie-dog  burrow  had  made  me 
dash  my  brains  out,  for  I  was  n't  happy  ovei 
the  job  that  lay  before  me. 

We  watered  at  Silver  Spring  at  quarter- 
past  twelve.  From  that  point  we  were 
clear  of  the  pines  and  out  on  the  plain,  so 
we  could  go  a  better  pace.  This  brought 
us  to  the  half-way  ranch  by  two,  where  <ve 
gave  the  ponies  a  feed  and  an  hour's  rest. 
We  reached  the  last  relay  station  just  as  the 
moon  set,  about  three-forty ;  and,  as  all  the 
rest  of  the  ride  was  through  coconino  forest, 
we  held  up  there  for  daylight,  getting  a 
little  sleep  meanwhile. 

We  rode  into  the  camp  at  the  Grand 
Canon  a  little  after  eight,  and  the  deserted 
look  of  the  tents  gave  me  a  moment's  fright, 
for  I  feared  that  the  party  had  gone.  Tol- 
free  explained,  however,  that  some  had 
ridden  out  to  Moran  Point,  and  the  rest  had 
gone  down  Hance's  trail.  So  I  breakfasted 
and  then  took  a  look  at  Albert  Cullen's 
59 


THE  GREAT 

» 

Chester.  That  it  had  been  recently 
fired  was  as  plain  as  the  Grand  Canon  itself; 
throwing  back  the  bar,  I  found  an  empty 
cartridge  shell,  still  oily  from  the  discharge. 
That  completed  the  tale  of  seven  shot?,  I 
did  n't  feel  absolutely  safe  till  I  had  asked 
Tolfree  if  there  had  been  any  shooting  of 
echoes  by  the  party,  but  his  denial  rounded 
out  my  chain  of  evidence. 

Telling  the  sheriff  to  guard  the  bags  of  the 
party  carefully,  I  took  two  of  the  posse  and 
rode  over  to  Moran's  Point.  Sure  enough, 
there  were  Mr.  Cullen,  Albert,  and  Captain 
Ackland.  They  gave  a  shout  at  seeing  me, 
and  even  before  I  had  reached  them  they 
calico  to  know  how  I  could  come  so  soon, 
and  if  I  had  caught  the  robbers.  Mr.  Cullen 
started  to  tell  his  pleasure  at  my  rejoining  the 
party,  but  my  expression  made  him  pause, 
and  it  seemed  to  dawn  on  all  three  that  the 
Winchester  across  my  saddle,  and  the  cow 
boys'  hands  resting  nonchalantly  on  the  re 
volvers  in  their  belts,  had  a  meaning. 

a  Mr.  Cullen,"  I  explained,  "  I  Ve  got  a 
60 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

very  unpleasant  job  on  hand,  which  I  don't 
want  to  make  any  worse  than  need  be. 
Every  fact  points  to  your  party  as  guilty  of 
holding  up  the  train  last  night  and  stealing 
those  letters.  Probably  you  were  n't  all  con 
cerned,  but  I  've  got  to  go  on  the  assump 
tion  that  you  are  all  guilty,  till  you  prove 
otherwise." 

"  Aw,  you  're  joking,"  drawled  Albert. 

u  I  hope  so,"  I  said,  "  but  for  the  present 
I  've  got  to  be  English  and  treat  the  joke 
seriously." 

"  What  do  you  want  to  do  ?  "  asked  Mr. 
Cullen. 

"  I  don't  wish  to  arrest  you  gentlemen 
unless  you  force  me  to,"  I  said,  "  for  I  don't 
see  that  it  will  do  any  good.  But  I  want 
you  to  return  to  camp  with  us." 

They  assented  to  that,  and,  single  file,  we 
rode  back.  When  there  I  told  each  that  he 
must  be  searched,  to  which  they  submitted 
at  once.  After  that  we  went  through  their 
baggage.  I  was  n't  going  to  have  the  sheriff 

DO    O  DO 

or    cowboys    tumbling    over    Miss    Cullen's 
61 


THE   GREAT 

clothes,  so  I  looked  over  her  bag  myself. 
The  prettiness  and  daintiness  of  the  various 
contents  were  a  revelation  to  me,  and  I  tried 
to  put  them  back  as  neatly  as  I  had  found 
them,  but  I  did  n't  know  much  about  the 
articles,  and  it  was  a  terrible  job  trying  to 
fold  up  some  of  the  things.  Why,  there 
was  a  big  pink  affair,  lined  with  silk,  with 
bits  of  ribbon  and  lace  all  over  it,  which 
nearly  drove  me  out  of  my  head,  for  I  would 
have  defied  mortal  man  to  pack  it  so  that  it 
should  n't  muss.  I  had  a  funny  little  feeling 
of  tenderness  for  everything,  which  made 
fussing  over  it  all  a  pleasure,  even  while  I 
felt  all  the  time  that  I  was  doing  a  sneak  act 
and  had  really  no  right  to  touch  her  belong 
ings.  I  did  n't  find  anything  incriminating, 
and  the  posse  reported  the  same  result  with 
the  other  baggage.  If  the  letters  were  still 
in  existence,  they  were  either  concealed 
somewhere  or  were  in  the  possession  of  the 
party  in  the  Canon.  Telling  the  sheriff 
to  keep  those  in  the  camp  under  absolute 
surveillance,  I  took  a  single  man,  and 
62 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

saddling    a   couple    of   mules,    started    down 
the    trail. 

We  found  Frederic  and  "  Captain  "  Hance 
just  dismounting  at  the  Rock  Cabin,  and  I 
told  the  former  he  was  in  custody  for  the 
present,  and  asked  him  where  Miss  Cullen 
and  Lord  Ralles  were.  He  told  me  they 
were  just  behind;  but  I  wasn't  going  to 
take  any  risks,  and,  ordering  the  deputy  to 
iook  after  Cullen,  I  went  on  down  the  trail. 
I  could  n't  resist  calling  back,  — 

"  How  's  your  respiration,  Mr.  Cullen  ?  " 

He  laughed,  and  called,  "  Digitalis  put  me 
on  my  feet  like  a  flash." 

"  He  's  got  the  most  brains  of  any  man  in 
this  party,"  I  remarked  to  myself. 

The  trail  at  this  point  is  very  winding,  so 
that  one  can  rarely  see  fifty  feet  in  advance, 
and  sometimes  not  ten.  Owing  to  this,  the 
first  thing  I  knew  I  plumped  round  a  curve 
on  to  a  mule,  which  was  patiently  standing 
there.  Just  back  of  him  was  another,  on 
which  sat  Miss  Cullen,  and  standing  close 
beside  her  was  Lord  Ralles.  One  of  his 
63 


THE   GREAT 

hands  held  the  mule's  bridle ;  the  other  held 
Madge's  arm,  and  he  was  saying,  "  You 
owe  it  to  me,  and  I  will  have  one.  Or 
if—" 

I  swore  to  myself,  and  coughed  aloud, 
which  made  Miss  Cullen  look  up.  The 
moment  she  saw  me  she  cried,  "  Mr.  Gor 
don  !  How  delightful ! "  even  while  she 
grew  as  red  as  she  had  been  pale  the  mo 
ment  before.  Lord  Ralles  grew  red  too, 
but  in  a  different  way. 

"  Have  you  caught  the  robbers  ?  "  cried 
Miss  Cullen. 

"  I  'm  afraid  I  have,"  I  answered. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  she  asked. 

I  smiled  at  the  absolute  innocence  and 
wonder  with  which  she  spoke,  and  replied, 
"  I  know  now,  Miss  Cullen,  why  you  said  I 
was  braver  than  the  Britishers." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  " 

I  could  n't  resist  getting  in  a   side-shot   at 

Lord  Ralles,  who  had   mounted  his  mule  and 

sat  scowling.     "  The  train-robbers  were  such 

thoroughgoing  duffers   at  the   trade,"  I  said, 

64 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

c<  that  if  they  had  left  their  names  and  ad 
dresses  they  would  n't  have  made  it  much 
easier.  We  Americans  may  not  know 
enough  to  deal  with  real  road  agents,  but  we 
can  do  something  with  amateurs." 

"  What  are  we  stopping  here  for  ? " 
snapped  Lord  Ralles. 

"  I  'm  sure  I  don't  know,"  I  responded. 
"  Miss  Cullen,  if  you  will  kindly  pass  us, 
and  then  if  Lord  Ralles  will  follow  you,  we 
will  go  on  to  the  cabin.  I  must  ask  you  to 
keep  close  together." 

"  I  stay  or  go  as  I  please,  and  not  by  your 
orders,"  asserted  Lord  Ralles,  snappishly. 

"  Out  in  this  part  of  the  country,"  I 
said  calmly,  u  it  is  considered  shocking  bad 
form  for  an  unarmed  man  to  argue  with  one 
who  carries  a  repeating  rifle.  Kindly  follow 
Miss  Cullen."  And,  leaning  over,  I  struck 
his  mule  with  the  loose  ends  of  my  bridle, 
starting  it  up  the  trail. 

When  we  reached  the  cabin  the  deputy 
told  me  that  he  had  made  Frederic  strip  and 
had  searched  his  clothing,  finding  nothing. 
5  f* 


THE   GREAT 

I  ordered  Lord  Ralles  to  dismount  and  ga 
into  the  cabin. 

"  For  what  ?  "  he  demanded. 

u  We  want  to  search  you,"  I  answered. 

"  I  don't  choose  to  be  searched,"  he  pro 
tested.  u  You  have  shown  no  warrant, 
nor  —  " 

I  was  n't  in  a  mood  towards  him  to  listen 
to  his  talk.  I  swung  my  Winchester  into 
line  and  announced,  "  I  was  sworn  in  last 
night  as  a  deputy-sheriff,  and  am  privileged  to 
shoot  a  train-robber  on  sight.  Either  dead 
or  alive,  I  'm  going  to  search  your  clothing 
inside  of  ten  minutes  ;  and  if  you  have  no 
preference  as  to  whether  the  examination 
is  an  ante-  or  post-mortem  affair,  I  certainly 
have  n't." 

That  brought  him  down  off  his  high  horse, 
—  that  is,  mule,  —  and  I  sent  the  deputy  in 
with  him  with  directions  to  toss  his  clothes 
out  to  me,  for  I  wanted  to  keep  my  eye  on 
Miss  Cullen  and  her  brother,  so  as  to  pre 
vent  any  legerdemain  on  their  part. 

One  by  one  the  garments  came  flying 
66 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

through  the  door  to  me.  As  fast  as  I  fin 
ished  examining  them  I  pitched  them  back, 
except  —  Well,  as  I  have  thought  it  over 
since  then,  I  have  decided  that  I  did  a  mean 
thing,  and  have  regretted  it.  But  just  put 
yourself  in  my  place,  and  think  of  how  Lord 
Ralles  had  talked  to  me  as  if  I  was  his  ser 
vant,  had  refused  my  apology  and  thanks, 
and  been  as  generally  "  nasty  "  as  he  could, 
and  perhaps  you  won't  blame  me  that,  after 
looking  through  his  trousers,  I  gave  them  a 
toss  which,  instead  of  sending  them  back 
into  the  hut,  sent  them  over  the  edge  of  the 
trail.  They  went  down  six  hundred  feet 
before  they  lodged  in  a  poplar,  and  if  his 
lordship  followed  the  trail  he  could  get  round 
to  them,  but  there  would  then  be  a  hundred 
feet  of  sheer  rock  between  the  trail  and 
the  trousers.  "  I  hope  it  will  teach  him  to 
study  his  Lord  Chesterfield  to  better  purpose, 
for  if  politeness  does  n't  cost  anything,  rude 
ness  can  cost  considerable,"  I  chuckled  to 
myself. 

My  amusement  did  not  last   long,  for  my 
$7 


THE   GREAT 

next  thought  was,  "  If  those  letters  are  con 
cealed  on  any  one,  they  are  on  Miss  Cullen." 
The  thought  made  me  lean  up  against  my 
mule,  and  turn  hot  and  cold  by  turns. 
A  nice  situation  for  a  lover ! 


68 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    HAPPENINGS    DOWN    HANCE'S   TRAIL 

Miss  CULLEN  was  sitting  on  a  rock  apart 
from  her  brother  and  Hance,  as  I  had  asked 
her  to  do  when  I  helped  her  dismount.  I 
went  over  to  where  she  sat,  and  said, 
boldly, — 

"  Miss  Cullen,  I  want  those  letters.'* 

"  What  letters  ?  "  she  asked,  looking  me 
in  the  eyes  with  the  most  innocent  of  ex 
pressions.  She  made  a  mistake  to  do  that, 
for  I  knew  her  innocence  must  be  feigned, 
and  so  did  n't  put  much  faith  in  her  face  for 
the  rest  of  the  interview. 

"And  what  is  more,"  I  continued,  with 
a  firmness  of  manner  about  as  genuine  as  her 
innocence,  "  unless  you  will  produce  them 
at  once,  I  shall  have  to  search  you." 

"Mr.  Gordon!"  she  exclaimed,  but  she 
put  such  surprise  and  grief  and  disbelief  into 
69 


THE   GREAT 

the  four  syllables  that  I  wanted  the  earth  to 
swallow  me  then  and  there. 

"Why,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  cried,  "look  at 
my  position.  I  'm  being  paid  to  do  certain 
things,  and —  " 

"  But  that  need  n't  prevent  your  being  a 
gentleman,"  she  interrupted. 

That  made  me  almost  desperate.  "  Miss 
Cullen,"  I  groaned,  hurriedly,  "  I  'd  rather  be 
burned  alive  than  do  what  I  've  got  to,  but  if 
you  won't  give  me  those  letters,  search  you 
I  must." 

"  But  how  can  I  give  you  what  I 
have  n't  ?  "  she  cried,  indignantly,  assuming 
again  her  innocent  expression. 

"  Will  you  give  me  your  word  of  honor 
that  those  letters  are  not  concealed  in  your 
clothes  ? " 

"  I  will,"  she  answered. 

I  was  very  much  taken  aback,  for  it  would 
have  been  so  easy  for  Miss  Cullen  to  have 
said  so  before  that  I  had  become  convinced 
she  must  have  them. 

"And  do  you  give  me  your  word?" 
70 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

« 1  do,"  she  affirmed,  but  she  did  n't  look 
me  in  the  face  as  she  said  it. 

I  ought  to  have  been  satisfied,  but  I 
was  n't,  for,  in  spite  of  her  denial,  something 
forced  me  still  to  believe  she  had  them,  and 
looking  back  now,  I  think  it  was  her  manner. 
I  stood  reflecting  for  a  minute,  and  then  re 
quested,  "  Please  stay  where  you  are  for  a 
moment."  Leaving  her,  I  went  over  to 
Fred. 

"Mr.  Cullen,"  I  said,  "Miss  Cullen, 
rather  than  be  searched,  has  acknowledged 
that  she  has  the  letters,  and  says  that  if  we 
men  will  go  into  the  hut  she  '11  get  them  for 
me." 

He  rose  at  once.  "  I  told  my  father  not 
to  drag  her  in,"  he  muttered,  sadly.  "  I 
don't  care  about  myself,  Mr.  Gordon,  but 
can't  you  keep  her  out  of  it  ?  She  's  as 
innocent  of  any  real  wrong  as  the  day  she 
was  born." 

"  I  '11  do  everything  in  my  power,"  I 
promised.  Then  he  and  Hance  went  into 
the  cabin,  and  I  walked  back  to  the  culprit. 


THE   GREAT 

"  Miss  Cullen,"  I  said,  gravely,  "  you 
have  those  letters,  and  must  give  them  to 
me." 

"  But  I  told  you  —  "  she  began. 

To  spare  her  a  second  untruth,  I  inter 
rupted  her  by  saying,  "  I  trapped  your 
brother  into  acknowledging  that  you  have 
them." 

"  You  must  have  misunderstood  him,"  she 
replied,  calmly,  "  or  else  he  did  n't  know  that 
the  arrangement  was  changed." 

Her  steadiness  rather  shook  my  convic 
tion,  but  I  said,  "  You  must  give  me  those 
letters,  or  I  must  search  you." 

"  You  never  would  !  "  she  cried,  rising 
and  looking  me  in  the  face. 

On  impulse  I  tried  a  big  bluff.  I  took 
hold  of  the  lapel  of  her  waist,  intending  to 
undo  just  one  button.  I  let  go  in  fright 
when  I  found  there  was  no  button,  —  only 
an  awful  complication  of  hooks  or  some 
other  feminine  method  for  keeping  things 
together, — and  I  grew  red  and  trembled, 
thinking  what  might  have  happened  had  I, 
72 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

by  bad  luck,  made  anything  come  undone. 
If  Miss  Cullen  had  been  noticing  me,  she 
would  have  seen  a  terribly  scared  man. 

But  she  was  n't,  luckily,  for  the  moment 
my  hand  touched  her  dress,  and  before  she 
could  realize  that  I  snatched  it  away,  she 
collapsed  on  the  rock,  and  burst  into  tears. 
"  Oh  !  oh  !  "  she  sobbed,  "  I  begged  papa 
not  to,  but  he  insisted  they  were  safest  with 
me.  I  '11  give  them  to  you,  if  you  '11  only  go 
away  and  not  —  "  Her  tears  made  her  in 
articulate,  and  without  waiting  for  more  I 
ran  into  the  hut,  feeling  as  near  like  a  mur 
derer  as  a  guiltless  man  could. 

Lord  Ralles  by  this  time  was  making  almost 
as  much  noise  as  an  engine  pulling  a  heavy 
freight  up  grade  under  forced  draft,  swearing 
over  his  trousers,  and  was  offering  the  cow 
boy  and  Hance  money  to  recover  them. 
When  they  told  him  this  was  impossible  he 
tried  to  get  them  to  sell  or  hire  a  pair,  but 
they  did  n't  like  the  idea  of  riding  into  camp 
minus  those  essentials  any  better  than  he  did. 
While  I  waited  they  settled  the  difficulty  by 
73 


THE   GREAT 

Strapping  a  blanket  r^und  him,  and  by  split 
ting  it  up  the  middle  .md  using  plenty  of  cord 
they  rigged  him  out  after  a  fashion  ;  but  I 
think  if  he  could  have  seen  himself  and  been 
given  an  option  he  would  have  preferred  to 
wait  till  it  was  dark  enough  to  creep  into 
camp  unnoticed. 

Before  long  Miss  Cullen  called,  and  when 
I  went  to  her  she  handed  me,  without  a 
word,  three  letters.  As  she  did  so  she  crim 
soned  violently,  and  looked  down  in  her 
mortification.  I  was  so  sorry  for  her  that, 
though  a  moment  before  I  had  been  judging 
her  harshly,  I  now  could  n't  help  saying,  — 

"  Our  positions  have  been  so  difficult, 
Miss  Cullen,  that  I  don't  think  we  either  of 
us  are  quite  responsible  for  our  actions." 

She  said  nothing,  and,  after  a  pause,  I 
continued,  — 

"  I  hope  you  '11  think  as  leniently  of  my 
conduct  as  you  can,  for  I  can't  tell  you  how 
grieved  I  am  to  have  pained  you." 

Cullen  joined  us  at  this  point,  and,  know 
ing  that  every  moment  we  remained  would 
74 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

be  distressing  to  his  sister,  I  announced  that 
we  would  start  up  the  trail.  I  had  n't  the 
heart  to  offer  to  help  her  mount,  and  after 
Frederic  had  put  her  up  we  fell  into  single 
file  behind  Hance,  Lord  Ralles  coming  last. 

As  soon  as  we  started  I  took  a  look  at 
the  three  letters.  They  were  all  addressed 
to  Theodore  E.  Camp,  Esq.,  Ash  Forks, 
Arizona, — one  of  the  directors  of  the  K.  & 
A.  and  also  of  the  Great  Southern.  With 
this  clue,  for  the  first  time  things  began  to 
clear  up  to  me,  and  when  the  trail  broadened 
enough  to  permit  it,  I  pushed  my  mule  up 
alongside  of  Cullen  and  asked,  — 

"  The  letters  contain  proxies  for  the  K.  & 
A.  election  next  Friday  ?  " 

He  nodded  his  head.  "  The  Missouri 
Western  and  the  Great  Southern  are  fighting 
for  control,"  he  explained,  "and  we  should 
have  won  but  for  three  blocks  of  Eastern 
stock  that  had  promised  their  proxies  to 
the  G.  S.  Rather  than  lose  the  fight,  we 
arranged  to  learn  when  those  proxies  were 
mailed,  —  that  was  what  kept  me  behind,  — 
75 


THE    GREAT 

and  then  to  hold  up  the  train  that  carried 
them." 

"  Was  it  worth  the  risk  ?  "  I  ejaculated. 

"  If  we  had  succeeded,  yes.  My  father 
had  put  more  than  was  safe  into  Missouri 
Western  and  into  California  Central.  The 
G.  S.  wants  control  to  end  the  traffic  agree 
ments,  and  that  means  bankruptcy  to  my 
father." 

I  nodded,  seeing  it  all  as  clear  as  day,  and 
hardly  blaming  the  Cullens  for  what  they 
had  done ;  for  any  one  who  has  had  dealings 
with  the  G.  S.  is  driven  to  pretty  desperate 
methods  to  keep  from  being  crushed,  and 
when  one  is  fighting  an  antagonist  that  won't 
regard  the  law,  or  rather  one  that,  through 
control  of  legislatures  and  judges,  makes  the 
law  to  suit  its  needs,  the  temptation  is  strong 
to  use  the  same  weapons  one's  self. 

"  The  toughest  part  of  it  is,"  Fred  went 
on,  "  that  we  thought  we  had  the  whole 
thing  *  hands  down,'  and  that  was  what  made 
my  father  go  in  so  deep.  Only  the  death  of 
one  of  the  M.  W.  directors,  who  held  eight 
76 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBr.&Y 

thousand  shares  of  K.  &  A.,  got  us  ii»  tlus 
hole,  for  the  G.  S.  put  up  a  relation  tq  con 
test  the  will,  and  so  delayed  the  obtaining  of 
letters  of  administration,  blocking  his  exec 
utors  from  giving  a  proxy.  It  was  as  mean 
a  trick  as  ever  was  played." 

"The  G.  S.  is  a  tough  customer  to  fight," 
I  remarked,  and  asked,  "  Why  did  n't  you 
burn  the  letters  ? "  really  wishing  they  had 
done  so. 

"  We  feared  duplicate  proxies  might  get 
through  in  time,  and  thought  that  by  keeping 
these  we  might  cook  up  a  question  as  to 
which  were  legal,  and  then  by  injunction 
prevent  the  use  of  either." 

"  And  those  Englishmen,"  I  inquired, 
"  are  they  real  ?  " 

"  Oh,  certainly,"  he  rejoined.  "  They 
were  visiting  my  brother,  and  thought  the 
whole  thing  great  larks."  Then  he  told  me 
how  the  thing  had  been  done.  They  had 
sent  Miss  Cullen  to  my  car,  so  as  to  get  me 
out  of  the  way,  though  she  had  n't  known  it. 
He  and  his  brother  got  off  the  train  at  the 
77 


THE   GREAT 

last  stop,  with  the  guns  and  masks,  and  con 
cealed  themselves  on  the  platform  of  the 
mail-car.  Here  they  had  been  joined  by  the 
Britishers  at  the  right  moment,  the  disguises 
assumed,  and  the  train  held  up  as  already 
told.  Of  course  the  dynamite  cartridge  was 
only  a  blind,  and  the  letters  had  been  thrown 
about  the  car  merely  to  confuse  the  clerk. 
Then  while  Frederic  Cullen,  with  the  letters, 
had  stolen  back  to  the  car,  the  two  English 
men  had  crept  back  to  where  they  had  stood. 
Here,  as  had  been  arranged,  they  opened  fire, 
which  Albeit  Cullen  duly  returned,  and  then 
joined  them.  "  I  don't  see  now  how  you 
spotted  us,"  Frederic  ended. 

I  told  him,  and  his  disgust  was  amusing  to 
see.  "  Going  to  Oxford  may  be  all  right  fo( 
the  classics,"  he  growled,  "  but  it 's  destruc 
tive  to  gumption." 

We  rode  into  camp  a  pretty  gloomy  crowd, 
and  those  of  the  party  waiting  for  us  there 
were  not  much  better ;  but  when  Lord  Ralles 
dismounted  and  showed  up  in  his  substitute 
for  trousers  there  was  a  general  shout  of 
78 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

laughter.  Even  Miss  Cullen  had  to  laugh 
for  a  moment.  And  as  his  lordship  bolted 
for  his  tent,  I  said  to  myself,  "  Honors  are 
easy." 

I  told  the  sheriff  that  I  had  recovered  the 
lost  property,  but  did  not  think  any  arrests 
necessary  as  yet ;  and,  as  he  was  the  agent 
of  the  K.  &  A.  at  Flagstaff,  he  did  n't  ques 
tion  my  opinion.  I  ordered  the  stage  out, 
and  told  Tolfree  to  give  us  a  feed  before  we 
started,  but  a  more  silent  meal  I  never  sat 
down  to,  and  I  noticed  that  Miss  Cullen 
did  n't  eat  anything,  while  the  tragic  look  on 
her  face  was  so  pathetic  as  nearly  to  drive  me 
frantic. 

We  started  a  little  after  five,  and  were 
clear  of  the  timber  before  It  was  too  dark  to 
see.  At  the  relay  station  we  waited  an  hour 
for  the  moon,  after  which  it  was  a  clear 
track.  We  reached  the  half-way  ranch  about 
eleven,  and  while  changing  the  stage  horses 
I  roused  Mrs.  Klostermeyer,  and  succeeded 
in  getting  enough  cold  mutton  and  bread  to 
make  two  rather  decent-looking  sandwiches. 
79 


THE   GREAT 

With  these  and  a  glass  of  whiskey  and  water 
I  went  to  the  stage,  to  find  Miss  Cullen 
curled  up  on  the  seat  asleep,  her  head  resting 
in  her  brother's  arms. 

u  She  has  nearly  worried  herself  to  death 
ever  since  you  told  her  that  road  agents  were 
hung,"  Frederic  whispered ;  "  and  she 's 
been  crying  to-night  over  that  lie  she  told 
you,  and  altogether  she  's  worn  out  with 
travel  and  excitement." 

I  screwed  the  cover  on  the  travelling- 
glass,  and  put  it  with  the  sandwiches  in  the 
bottom  of  the  stage.  "  It 's  a  long  and  a 
rough  ride,"  I  said,  "  and  if  she  wakes  up 
they  may  give  her  a  little  strength.  I  only 
wish  I  could  have  spared  her  the  fatigue  and 
anxiety." 

"  She  thought  she  had  to  lie  for  father's 
sake,  but  she 's  nearly  broken-hearted  over 
it,"  he  continued. 

I  looked  Frederic  in  the  face  as  I  said, 
41 1  honor  her  for  it,"  and  in  that  moment 
he  and  I  became  friends. 

"  Just  see  how  pretty  she  is  !  "  he  whis- 
80 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

pered,  with  evident  affection  and  pride,  turn 
ing  back  the  flap  of  the  rug  in  which  she  was 
wrapped. 

She  was  breathing  gently,  and  there  was 
just  that  touch  of  weariness  and  sadness  in 
her  face  that  would  appeal  to  any  man.  It 
made  me  gulp,  I  'm  proud  to  say ;  and  when 
I  was  back  on  my  pony,  I  said  to  myself, 
"  For  her  sake,  I  '11  pull  the  Cullens  out  of 
this  scrape,  if  it  costs  me  my  position." 


THE   GREAT 
CHAPTER   VII 

A   CHANGE   OF    BASE 

WE  did  not  reach  Flagstaff  till  seven,  and  I 
told  the  stage-load  to  take  possession  of  their 
car,  while  I  went  to  my  own.  It  took  me 
some  time  to  get  freshened  up,  and  then  I 
ate  my  breakfast ;  for  after  riding  seventy-two 
miles  in  one  night  even  the  most  heroic 
purposes  have  to  take  the  side-track.  I 
think,  as  it  was,  I  proved  my  devotion  pretty 
well  by  not  going  to  sleep,  since  I  had  been 
up  three  nights,  with  only  such  naps  as  I 
could  steal  in  the  saddle,  and  had  ridden  over 
a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  boot.  But  I 
could  n't  bear  to  think  of  Miss  Cullen's 
anxiety,  and  the  moment  I  had  made  myself 
decent,  and  finished  eating,  I  went  into  218. 
The  party  were  all  in  the  dining-room, 
but  it  was  a  very  different-looking  crowd 
from  the  one  with  which  that  first  breakfast 
82 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

had  been  eaten,  and  they  all  looked  at  me  as 
I  entered  as  if  I  were  the  executioner  come 
for  victims. 

"Mr.  Cullen,"  I  began,  "I've  been 
forced  to  do  a  lot  of  things  that  were  n't 
pleasant,  but  I  don't  want  to  do  more  than 
I  need.  You  're  not  the  ordinary  kind  of 
road  agents,  and,  as  I  presume  your  address 
is  known,  I  don't  see  any  need  of  arresting 
one  of  our  own  directors  as  yet.  All  I  ask 
is  that  you  give  me  your  word,  for  the  party, 
that  none  of  you  will  try  to  leave  the 
country." 

"  Certainly,  Mr.  Gordon,"  he  responded. 
"  And  I  thank  you  for  your  great  con 
sideration." 

"  I  shall  have  to  report  the  case  to  our 
president,  and,  I  suppose,  to  the  Postmaster- 
General,  but  I  sha'n't  hurry  about  either. 
What  they  will  do,  I  can't  say.  Probably 
you  know  how  far  you  can  keep  them 
quiet." 

"  I    think    the    local   authorities   are  all  I 
have  to  fear,  provided  time  is  given  me." 
83 


THE   GREAT 

"  I  have  dismissed  the  sheriff  and  his 
posse,  and  I  gave  them  a  hundred  dollars  for 
their  work,  and  three  bottles  of  pretty  good 
whiskey  I  had  on  my  car.  Unless  they  get 
orders  from  elsewhere,  you  will  not  hear 
any  further  from  them." 

"  You  must  let  me  reimburse  what  ex 
pense  we  have  put  you  to,  Mr.  Gordon.  1 
only  wish  I  could  as  easily  repay  your 
kindness." 

Nodding  my  head  in  assent,  as  well  as  in 
recognition  of  his  thanks,  I  continued,  "  It 
was  my  duty,  as  an  official  of  the  K.  &  A., 
to  recover  the  stolen  mail,  and  I  had  to  do 
it." 

"  We  understand  that,"  said  Mr.  Cullen, 
"  and  do  not  for  a  moment  blame  you." 

"  But,"  I  went  on,  for  the  first  time 
looking  at  Madge,  "  it  is  not  my  duty 
to  take  part  in  a  contest  for  control  of  the 
K.  &  A.,  and  I  shall  therefore  act  in 
this  case  as  I  should  in  any  other  loss  of 
mail." 

"  And  that  is  —  ?  "  asked  Frederic. 
84 


K.  &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

"  I  am  about  to  telegraph  for  instructions 
from  Washington,"  I  replied.  "  As  the 
G.  S.  by  trickery  has  dishonestly  tied  up 
some  of  your  proxies,  they  ought  not  to  ob 
ject  if  we  do  the  same  by  honest  means ;  and 
1  think  I  can  manage  so  that  Uncle  Sam 
will  prevent  those  proxies  from  being  voted 
at  Ash  Forks  on  Friday." 

If  a  galvanic  battery  had  been  applied  to 
the  group  about  the  breakfast  table,  it 
would  n't  have  made  a  bigger  change.  Madge 
clapped  her  hands  in  joy ;  Mr.  Cullen  said 
"  God  bless  you  !  "  with  real  feeling ;  Fred 
eric  jumped  up  and  slapped  me  on  the 
shoulder,  crying,  "  Gordon,  you  're  the  big 
gest  old  trump  breathing  ;  "  while  Albert  and 
the  captain  shook  hands  with  each  other,  in 
evident  jubilation.  Only  Lord  Ralles  re 
mained  passive. 

"  Have  you  breakfasted  ? "  asked  Mr. 
Cullen,  when  the  first  joy  was  over. 

"  Yes,"  I  said.  "  I  only  stopped  in  on 
my  way  to  the  station  to  telegraph  the  Post 
master-General." 


THE   GREAT 

"  May  I  come  Tvith  you  and  see  what  you 
say  ?  "  cried  Fred,  jumping  up. 

I  nodded,  and  Miss  Cullen  said,  question- 
ingly,  "  Me  too  f "  miking  me  very  happy 
by  the  question,  for  it  showed  that  she 
would  speak  to  me.  I  gave  an  assent  quite 
as  eagerly  and  in  a  moment  we  were  all 
walking  towards  the  platform.  Despite  Lord 
Ralles,  I  felt  happy,  and  especially  as  I 
had  not  dreamed  that  she  would  ever  for 
give  me. 

I  took  a  telegraph  blank,  and,  putting  it 
so  that  Miss  Cullen  could  see  what  I  said, 
wrote,  — 

"  Postmaster-General,  Washington,  D.  C. 
I  hold,  awaiting  your  instructions,  the  three 
registered  letters  stolen  from  No.  3  Over 
land  Missouri  Western  Express  on  Monday, 
October  fourteenth,  loss  of  which  has  already 
been  notified  you." 

Then  I  paused  and  said,  "  So  far,  that 's 
routine,  Miss  Cullen.  Now  comes  the  help 
for  you,"  and  I  continued  :  — 

"  The  letters  may  have  been  tampered 
86 


K.    &    A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

tvith,  and  I  recommend  a  special  agent. 
Reply  Flagstaff,  Arizona.  RICHARD  GOR 
DON,  Superintendent  K.  &  A.  R.  R." 

"  What  will  that  do  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  'm  not  much  at  prophecy,  and  we  '11 
wait  for  the  reply,"  I  said. 

All  that  day  we  lay  at  Flagstaff,  and  after 
a  good  sleep,  as  there  was  no  use  keeping 
the  party  cooped  up  in  their  car,  I  drummed 
up  some  ponies  and  took  the  Cullens  and 
Ackland  over  to  the  Indian  cliff-dwellings. 
I  don't  think  Lord  Ralles  gained  anything 
by  staying  behind  in  a  sulk,  for  it  was  a 
very  jolly  ride,  or  at  least  that  was  what  it 
was  to  me.  I  had  of  course  to  tell  them  all 
how  I  had  settled  on  them  as  the  criminals, 
and  a  general  history  of  my  doings.  Xo 
hear  Miss  Cullen  talk,  one  would  have  in 
ferred  I  was  the  greatest  of  living  detectives. 

"  The  mistake  we  made,"  she  asserted, 
"  was  not  securing  Mr.  Gordon's  help  to 
begin  with,  for  then  we  should  never  have 
needed  to  hold  the  train  up,  or  if  we  had  we 
should  never  have  been  discovered." 
87 


THE   GREAT 

What  was  more  to  me  than  this  ill-de 
served  admiration  were  two  things  she  said 
on  the  way  back,  when  we  two  had  paired 
off  and  were  a  bit  behind  the  rest. 

u  The  sandwiches  and  the  whiskey  were 
very  good,"  she  told  me,  "  and  I  'm  so 
grateful  for  the  trouble  you  took." 

"  It  was  a  pleasure,"  I  said. 

"  And,  Mr.  Gordon,"  she  continue^,  anrr 
then  hesitated  for  a  moment,  —  "  my  — 
Frederic  told  me  that  you — you  said  you 
honored  me  for  —  ?  " 

"  I  do,"  I  exclaimed  energetically,  as  she 
paused  and  colored. 

"  Do  you  really  ?  "  she  cried.  "  I 
thought  Fred  was  only  trying  to  make  me 
less  unhappy  by  saying  that  you  did." 

"  I  said  it,  and  I  meant  it,"  I  told  her. 

"  I  have  been  so  miserable  over  that  lie," 
she  went  on ;  "  but  I  thought  if  I  let  you 
have  the  letters  it  would  ruin  papa.  I  really 
would  n't  mind  poverty  myself,  Mr.  Gordon, 
but  he  takes  such  pride  in  success  that  I 
could  n't  be  the  one  to  do  it.  And  then, 
88 


K.   &    A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

after  you  told  me  that  train-robbers  were 
hung,  I  had  to  lie  to  save  them.  I  ought  to 
have  known  you  would  help  us." 

I  thought  this  a  pretty  good  time  to 
make  a  real  apology  for  my  conduct  on  the 
trail,  as  well  as  to  tell  her  how  sorry  I  was 
at  not  having  been  able  to  repack  her  bag 
better.  She  accepted  my  apology  very 
sweetly,  and  assured  me  her  belongings  had 
been  put  away  so  neatly  that  she  had  won 
dered  who  did  it.  I  knew  she  only  said  this 
out  of  kindness,  and  told  her  so,  telling  also 
of  my  struggles  over  that  pink-beribboned 
and  belaced  affair,  in  a  way  which  made  her 
laugh.  I  had  thought  it  was  a  ball  gown, 
and  wondered  at  her  taking  it  to  the  Canon  ; 
but  she  explained  that  it  was  what  she  called 
a  "  throw  "  —  which  I  told  her  accounted 
for  the  throes  I  had  gone  through  over  it. 
It  made  me  open  my  eyes,  thinking  that 
anything  so  pretty  could  be  used  for  the 
same  purposes  for  which  I  use  my  crash 
bath-gown,  and  while  my  eyes  were  open  I 
saw  the  folly  of  thinking  that  a  girl  who 
89 


THE   GREAT 

wore  such  things  would,  or  in  fact  coulo, 
ever  get  along  on  my  salary.  In  that  way 
the  incident  was  a  good  lesson  for  me,  for  u 
made  me  feel  that,  even  if  there  had  been 
no  Lord  Ralles,  I  still  should  have  had  no 
chance. 

On  our  return  to  the  cars  there  was  a 
telegram  from  the  Postmaster-General  await 
ing  me.  After  a  glance  at  it,  as  the  rest 
of  the  party  looked  anxiously  on,  I  passed 
it  over  to  Miss  Cullen,  for  I  wanted  her  to 
have  the  triumph  of  reading  it  aloud  to  them. 
It  read, — 

"  Hold  letters  pending  arrival  of  special 
agent  Jackson,  due  in  Flagstaff  October 
twentieth." 

"  The  election  is  the  eighteenth,"  Fred 
eric  laughed,  executing  a  war  dance  on 
the  platform.  "The  G.  S.'s  dough  is 
cooked." 

"  I    must  waltz    with    some    one,"    cried 

Madge,  and  before  I   could  offer    :>he   took 

hold   of  Albert   and   the   two  went  whirling 

about,   much    to    my    envy.      The    Cullens 

90 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

were  about  the  most  jubilant  road  agents  I 
had  ever  seen. 

After  consultation  with  Mr.  Cullen,  we 
had  218  and  97  attached  to  No.  I  when  it 
arrived,  and  started  for  Ash  Forks.  He 
wanted  to  be  on  the  ground  a  day  in  advance, 
and  I  could  easily  be  back  in  Flagstaff  before 
the  arrival  of  the  special  agent. 

I  took  dinner  in  218,  and  they  toasted 
me,  as  if  I  had  done  something  heroic  in 
stead  of  merely  having  sent  a  telegram. 
Later  four  sat  down  to  poker,  while  Miss 
Cullen,  Fred,  and  I  went  out  and  sat  on 
the  platform  of  the  car  while  Madge  played 
on  her  guitar  and  sang  to  us.  She  had  a 
very  sweet  voice,  and  before  she  had  been 
singing  long  we  had  the  crew  of  a  "  dust 
express "  —  as  we  jokingly  call  a  gravel 
train  —  standing  about,  and  they  were  speed 
ily  reinforced  by  many  cowboys,  who  deserted 
the  medley  of  cracked  pianos  or  accordions 
of  the  Western  saloons  to  listen  to  her,  and 
who,  not  being  over-careful  in  the  terms 
with  which  they  expressed  their  approval, 
91 


THE   GREAT 

finally  by  their  riotous  admiration  drove  us 
inside.  At  Miss  Cullen's  suggestion  we 
three  nad  a  second  game  of  poker,  but 
with  chips  and  not  money.  She  was  an 
awfully  reckless  player,  and  the  luck  was 
dead  in  my  favor,  so  Madge  kept  borrowing 
my  chips,  till  she  was  so  deep  in  that  we 
both  lost  account.  Finally,  when  we  parted 
for  the  night  she  held  out  her  hand,  and, 
in  the  prettiest  of  ways,  said,  — 

"  I  am  so  deeply  in  your  debt,  Mr. 
Gordon,  that  I  don't  see  how  I  can  ever 
repay  you." 

I  tried  to  think  of  something  worth  say 
ing,  but  the  words  would  n't  come,  and  I 
could  only  shake  her  hand.  But,  duffer  as  I 
was,  the  way  she  had  said  those  words,  and 
the  double  meaning  she  had  given  them, 
would  have  made  me  the  happiest  fellow 
alive  if  I  could  only  have  forgotten  the 
existence  of  Lord  Ralles. 


92 


K.  &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 


CHAPTER   VIII 

HOW    DID    THE    SECRET    LEAK    OUT? 

!  MADE  up  for  my  three  nights'  lack  of 
sleep  by  not  waking  the  next  morning  till 
after  ten.  When  I  went  to  218,  I  found 
only  the  chef,  and  he  told  me  the  party  had 
gone  for  a  ride.  Since  I  could  n't  talk  to 
Madge,  I  went  to  work  at  my  desk,  for 
I  had  been  rather  neglecting  my  routine 
work.  While  I  still  wrote,  I  heard  horses' 
hoofs,  and,  looking  up,  saw  the  Cullens  re 
turning.  I  went  out  on  the  platform  to  wish 
them  good-morning,  arriving  just  in  time  to 
see  Lord  Ralles  help  Miss  Cullen  out  of 
her  saddle  ;  and  the  way  he  did  it,  and  the 
way  he  continued  to  hold  her  hand  after 
she  was  down,  while  he  said  something  to 
*ier,  made  me  grit  my  teeth  and  look  the 
93 


THE   GREAT 

other  way.  None  of  the  riders  had  seen 
me,  so  I  slipped  into  my  car  and  went  back 
to  work.  Fred  came  in  presently  to  see  if 
I  was  up  yet,  and  to  ask  me  to  lunch,  but  I 
felt  so  miserable  and  down-hearted  that  I 
made  an  excuse  of  my  late  breakfast  for 
not  joining  them. 

After  luncheon  'the  party  in  the  other 
special  all  came  out  and  walked  up  and  down 
the  platform,  the  sound  of  their  voices  and 
laughter  only  making  me  feel  the  bluer.  Before 
long  I  heard  a  rap  on  one  of  my  windows, 
and  there  was  Miss  Cullen  peering  in  at  me. 
The  moment  I  looked  up,  she  called,  — 

"  Won't  you  make  one  of  us,  Mr.  Misan 
thrope  ?  " 

I  called  myself  all  sorts  of  a  fool,  but  out 
I  went  as  eagerly  as  if  there  had  been  some 
hope.  Miss  Cullen  began  to  tease  me  over 
my  sudden  access  of  energy,  declaring  that 
she  was  sure  it  was  a  pose  for  their  benefit, 
or  else  due  to  a  guilty  conscience  over  having 
slept  so  late. 

u  I  hoped  you  would  ride  with  us,  though 
94 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

perhaps  it  would  n't  have  paid  you.  Ap 
parently  there  is  nothing  to  see  in  Ash 
Forks." 

u  There  is  something  that  may  interest 
you  all,"  I  suggested,  pointing  to  a  special 
that  had  been  dropped  off  No.  2  that 
morning. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  Madge. 

"  It 's  a  G.  S.  special,"  I  said,  "  and  Mr. 
Camp  and  Mr.  Baldwin  and  two  G.  S. 
officials  came  in  on  it." 

"What  do  you  think  he'd  give  for  those 
letters  ?  "  laughed  Fred. 

"  If  they  were  worth  so  much  to  you,  1 
suppose  they  can't  be  worth  any  less  to  the 
G.  S.,"  I  replied. 

"  Fortunately,  there  is  no  way  that  he  can 
learn  where  they  are,"  said  Mr.  Cullen. 

"  Don't  let 's  stand  still,"  cried  Miss 
Cullen.  u  Mr.  Gordon,  I  '11  run  you  a  race 
to  the  end  of  the  platform."  She  said  this 
only  after  getting  a  big  lead,  and  she  got 
there  about  eight  inches  ahead  of  me,  which 
pleased  her  mightily.  "  It  takes  men  so 
95 


THE   GREAT 

long  to  get  started,"  was  the  way  she  ex 
plained  her  victory.  Then  she  walked  me 
beyond  the  end  of  the  boarding  to  explain 
the  workings  of  a  switch  to  her.  That  it 
was  only  a  pretext  she  proved  to  me  the 
moment  I  had  relocked  the  bar,  by  saying, — 

"  Mr.  Gordon,  may  I  ask  you  a  ques 
tion  ? " 

"  Certainly,"    I  assented. 

"  It  is  one  I  should  ask  papa  or  Fred, 
but  I  am  afraid  they  might  not  tell  me  the 
truth.  You  will,  won't  you  ?  "  she  begged, 
very  earnestly. 

u  I  will,"     I  promised. 

"  Supposing,"  she  continued,  "  that  it  be 
came  known  that  you  have  those  letters  ? 
Would  it  do  our  side  any  harm  ? " 

I  thought  for  a  moment,  and  then  shook 
my  head.  "  No  new  proxies  could  arrive 
here  in  time  for  the  election,"  I  said,  "  and 
the  ones  I  have  will  not  be  voted." 

She  still  looked  doubtful,  and  asked, 
"  Then  why  did  papa  say  just  now,  '  For 
tunately  '  ?  " 

96 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

"  He  merely  meant  that  it  was  safer  they 
shouldn't  know." 

u  Then  it  is  better  to  keep  it  a  secret  ?  " 
she  asked,  anxiously. 

"  I  suppose  so,"  I  said,  and  then  added, 
"  Why  should  you  be  afraid  of  asking  your 
father  ?  " 

-4  Because  he  might  —  well,  if  he  knew, 
I'm  sure  he  would  sacrifice  himself;  and  I 
could  n't  run  the  risk." 

"  I  am  afraid  I  don't  understand  ?  "  I 
questioned. 

"  I  would  rather  not  explain,"  she  said, 
and  of  course  that  ended  the  subject. 

Our  exercise  taken,  we  went  back  to  the 
Cullens'  car,  and  Madge  left  us  to  write  some 
letters.  A  moment  later  Lord  Ralles  remem 
bered  he  had  not  written  home  recently,  anj 
he  too  went  forward  to  the  dining-room. 
That  made  me  call  myself — something,  for 
not  having  offered  Miss  Cullen  the  use  of 
my  desk  in  97.  Owing  to  this  the  two 
missed  part  of  the  big  game  we  were  playing ; 
for  barely  were  they  gone  when  one  of  the 
7  97 


THE   GREAT 

servants  brought  a  card  to  Mr.  Cullen,  who 
looked  at  it  and  exclaimed,  "Mr.  Camp!" 
Then,  after  a  speaking  pause,  in  which  we 
all  exchanged  glances,  he  said,  "  Bring  him 
in." 

On  Mr.  Camp's  entrance  he  looked  as 
much  surprised  as  we  had  all  done  a 
moment  before.  "  I  beg  your  pardon  for 
intruding,  Mr.  Cullen,"  he  said.  "I  was 
told  that  this  was  Mr.  Gordon's  car,  and  I 
wish  to  see  him." 

"I  am  Mr.  Gordon." 

"  You  are  travelling  with  Mr.  Cullen  ? " 
he  inquired,  with  a  touch  of  suspicion  in  his 
manner. 

"  No,"  I  answered.  "  My  special  is  the 
next  car,  and  I  was  merely  enjoying  a  cigar 
here." 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Mr.  Camp.  "  Then  I  won't 
interrupt  your  smoke,  and  will  only  relieve 
you  of  those  letters  of  mine." 

I  took  a  good  pull  at  my  cigar,  and  blew 
the  smoke  out  in  a  cloud  slowly  to  gain  time. 
"  I  don't  think  I  follow  you,"  I  said. 
98 


K.    &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

**  I  understand  that  you  have  in  your  pos 
session  three  letters  addressed  to  me." 

"  I  have,"   I  assented. 

"  Then  I  will  ask  you  to  deliver  them 
to  me." 

"  I  can't  do  that." 

"  Why  not  ? "  he  challenged.  "  They  're 
my  property." 

I  produced  the  Postmaster-General's  tele 
gram  and  read  it  to  him. 

"  Why,  this  is  infamous  !  "  Mr.  Camp 
cried.  "  What  use  will  those  letters  be  after 
the  eighteenth  ?  It 's  a  conspiracy." 

"  I  can  only  obey  instructions,"  I  said. 

u  It  shall  cost  you  your  position  if  you  do," 
Mr.  Camp  threatened. 

As  I  've  already  said,  I  have  n't  a  good 
temper,  and  when  he  told  me  that  I  could  n't 
help  retorting,  — 

"  That 's  quite  on  a  par  with  most  G.  S. 
methods." 

"  I  'm  not  speaking  for  the  G.  S.,  young 
man,"  roared  Mr.  Camp.  "I  speak  as  a 
director  of  the  Kansas  &  Arizona.  What  is 
99 


THE   GREAT 

more,  I  will  have  those  letters  inside  of 
twenty-four  hours." 

He  made  an  angry  exit,  and  I  said  to 
Fred,  "  I  wish  you  would  stroll  about  and 
spy  out  the  proceedings  of  the  enemy's  camp. 
He  may  telegraph  to  Washington,  an  if 
there  's  any  chance  of  the  Postmaster-Gen 
eral  revoking  his  order  I  must  go  back  to 
Flagstaff  on  No.  4  this  afternoon." 

"  He  sha'n't  do  anything  that  I  don't  know 
about  till  he  goes  to  bed,"  Fred  promised. 
"  But  how  the  deuce  did  he  know  that  you 
had  those  tetters  ?  " 

That  was  just  what  we  were  all  puzzling 
over,  for  only  the  occupants  of  No.  218  and 
myself,  so  far  as  I  knew,  were  in  a  position 
to  let  Mr.  Camp  hear  of  that  fact. 

As  Fred  made  his  exit  he  said,  "  Don't 
tell  Madge  that  there  is  a  new  complication, 
for  the  dear  girl  has  had  worries  enough 
already." 

Miss  Cullen  not  rejoining  us,  and  Lord 
Ralles  presently  doing  so,  I  went  to  my  own 
car,  for  he  and  I  were  not  good  furniture  for 
100 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

the  same  room.     Before  I   had  been  there 
long,  Fred  came  rushing  in. 

"  Camp  and  Baldwin  have  been  in  consul 
tation  with  a  lawyer,"  he  said,  "and  now  the 
three  have  just  boarded  those  cars,"  pointing 
out  the  window  at  the  branch-line  train  that 
was  to  leave  for  Phoenix  in  two  minutes. 

"  You  must  go  with  them,"  I  urged,  u  and 
keep  us  informed  as  to  what  they  do,  for  they 
evidently  are  going  to  set  the  law  on  us,  and 
the  G.  S.  has  always  owned  the  Territorial 
judges,  so  they  '11  stretch  a  point  to  oblige 
them." 

"  Have  I  time  to  fill  a  bag  ? " 

<l  Plenty,"  I  assured  him,  and,  going  out, 
I  ordered  the  train  held  till  I  should  give  the 
word. 

"  What  does  it  all  mean  ?  "  asked  Miss 
Cullen,  joining  me. 

I  laughed,  and  replied,  "  I  'm  doing  a 
braver  thing  even  than  your  party  did  ;  I  'm 
holding  up  a  train  all  by  my  lonesome." 

"  But   my  brother    came    dashing   in  just 
now  and  said  he  was  starting  for  Phoenix." 
101 


THE   GREAT 

"Let  her  go;"  I  called  to  the  conductor,  as 
Fred  jumped  aboard  ;  and  the  train  pulled  out. 

"  I  hope  there  's  nothing  wrong  ?  "  Madge 
questioned,  anxiously. 

"  Nothing  to  worry  over,"  I  laughed. 
"  Only  a  little  more  fun  for  our  money.  By 
the  way,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  went  on,  to  avoid 
her  questions,  "  if  you  have  your  letters 
ready,  and  will  let  me  have  them  at  once,  I 
can  get  them  on  No.  4,  so  that  they  '11  go 
East  to-night." 

Miss  Cullen  blushed  as  if  I  had  said 
something  I  ought  not  to  have,  and  stam 
mered,  "I  —  I  changed  my  mind,  and —  that 
is  —  I  did  n't  write  them,  after  all." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  —  I  ought  to  have 
known  ;  I  mean,  it's  very  natural,"  I  faltered 
and  stuttered,  thinking  what  a  dunce  I  had 
been  not  to  understand  that  both  hers  and 
Lord  Ralles's  letters  had  been  only  a  pretext 
to  get  away  from  the  rest  of  us. 

My  blundering  apology  and  evident  embar 
rassment  deepened  Miss  Cullen's  blush  five 
fold,  and  she  explained,  hurriedly,  "  I  found 
102 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

I  was  tired,  and  so,  instead  of  writing,  I  went 
to  my  room  and  rested." 

I  suppose  any  girl  would  have  invented 
the  same  yarn,  yet  it  hurt  me  more  than  the 
bigger  one  she  had  told  on  Hance's  trail. 
Small  as  the  incident  was,  it  made  me  very 
blue,  and  led  me  to  shut  myself  up  in  my 
own  car  for  the  rest  of  that  afternoon  and 
evening.  Indeed,  I  could  n't  sleep,  but  sat  up 
working,  quite  forgetful  of  the  passing  hours, 
till  a  glance  at  my  watch  startled  me  with 
the  fact  that  it  was  a  quarter  of  two.  Feel 
ing  like  anything  more  than  sleep,  I  went  out 
on  the  platform,  and,  lighting  a  cigar,  paced 
up  and  down,  thinking  of —  well,  thinking. 

The  night  agent  was  sitting  in  the  station, 
nodding,  and  after  I  had  walked  for  an  hour 
I  went  in  to  ask  him  if  the  train  to  Phosnix 
had  arrived  on  time.  Just  as  I  opened  the 
door,  the  telegraph  instrument  began  clicking, 
and  called  Ash  Forks.  The  man,  with  the 
curious  ability  that  operators  get  of  recogniz 
ing  their  own  call,  even  in  sleep,  waked  up 
instantly  and  responded,  and,  not  wishing  to 
103 


THE   GREAT 

interrupt  him,  I  delayed  asking  my  question 
till  he  should  be  free.  I  stood  there  thinking 
of  Madge,  and  listening  heedlessly  as  the  in 
strument  ticked  off  the  cipher  signature  of 
the  sending  operator,  and  the  "twenty-four 

paid."     But   as    I    heard  the    clicks  

which  meant  ph,  I  suddenly  became  attentive, 
and  when  it  completed  "  Phoenix  "I  concluded 
Fred  was  wiring  me,  and  listened  for  what 
followed  the  date.  This  is  what  the  instru 
ment  ticked :  — 


104 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

That  may  not  look  particularly  intelligible, 
but  if  the  Phoenix  operator  had  been  talking 
over  the  'phone  to  me  he  could  n't  have  said 
any  plainer,  — 

"  Sheriff  yavapai  county  ash  forks  arizona 
be  at  rail  road  station  three  forty  five  today 
to  meet  train  arriving  from  phoenix  prepared 
to  immediately  serve  peremptory  mandamus 
issued  tonight  by  judge  wilson  sig  theodore  e 
camp." 

My  question  being  pretty  thoroughly  an 
swered,  I  went  back  and  continued  my  walk ; 
but  before  five  minutes  had  passed,  the  oper 
ator  came  out,  and  handed  me  a  message. 
It  was  from  Fred,  and  read  thus :  — 

"  Camp,  Baldwin,  and  lawyer  went  at 
once  to  house  of  Judge  Wilson,  where  they 
stayed  an  hour.  They  then  returned  with 
judge  to  station,  and  after  despatching  a  tele 
gram  have  taken  seats  in  train  for  Ash  Forks, 
leaving  here  at  three  twenty-five.  I  shall 
return  with  them." 

A  bigger  idiot  than  I  could  have  under 
stood  the  move.  I  was  to  be  hauled  before 


THE   GREAT 

Judge  Wilson  by  means  of  mandamus  pro 
ceedings,  and,  as  he  was  notoriously  a  G.  S. 
judge,  and  was  coming  to  Ash  Forks  solely 
to  oblige  Mr.  Camp,  he  would  unquestion 
ably  declare  the  letters  the  property  of  Mr. 
Camp  and  order  their  delivery. 

Apparently  I  had  my  choice  of  being  a 
traitor  to  Madge,  of  going  to  prison  for  con 
tempt  of  court,  or  of  running  away,  which 
was  not  far  off  from  acknowledging  that  I 
had  done  something  wrong.  I  did  n't  like 
any  one  of  the  options. 


306 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 


CHAPTER   IX 

A    TALK    BEFORE    BREAKFAST 

LOOKING  at  my  watch,  I  found  it  was  a  little 
after  three,  which  meant  six  in  Washington : 
allowing  for  transmission,  a  telegram  would 
reach  there  in  time  to  be  on  hand  with  the 
opening  of  the  Departments.  I  therefore 
wired  at  once  to  the  following  effect :  — 

"Postmaster-General,  Washington,  D.C. 
A  peremptory  mandamus  has  been  issued  by 
Territorial  judge  to  compel  me  to  deliver 
to  addressee  the  tnree  registered  letters  which 
by  your  directions,  issued  October  sixteenth, 
I  was  to  hold  pending  arrival  of  special  agent 
Jackson.  Service  of  writ  will  be  made  at 
three  forty-five  to-day  unless  prevented. 
Telegraph  me  instructions  how  to  act." 

That  done  I  had  a  good  tub,  took  a  brisk 
walk  down  the  track,  and  felt  so  freshened 
107 


THE   GREAT 

up  as  to  be  none  the  worse  for  my  sleepless 
night.  I  returned  to  the  station  a  little  after 
six,  and,  to  my  surprise,  found  Miss  Cullen 
walking  up  and  down  the  platform. 

44  You  are  up  early  ! "  we  both  said 
together. 

44  Yes,"  she  sighed.  "  I  could  n't  sleep 
last  night." 

"  You  're  not  unwell,  I  hope  ?  " 

44  No,  —  except  mentally." 

I  looked  a  question,  and  she  went  on  :  "I 
have  some  worries,  and  then  last  night  I  saw 
you  were  all  keeping  some  bad  news  from 
me,  and  so  I  could  n't  sleep." 

41  Then  we  did  wrong  to  make  a  mystery 
of  it,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  said,  "  for  it  really 
is  n't  anything  to  trouble  about.  Mr.  Camp 
is  simply  taking  legal  steps  to  try  to  force 
me  to  deliver  those  letters  to  him." 

44  And  can  he  succeed  ?  " 

44  No." 

44  How  will  you  stop  him  ?  " 

44 1    don't    know  yet   just  what  we    shall 
do,  but  if  worse  comes  to  worse  I  will 
1 08 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

myself  to  be  committed  for  contempt  of 
court." 

"  What  would  they  do  with  you  ?  " 

"  Give  me  free  board  for  a  time." 

"  Not  send  you  to  prison  ?  " 

«  Yes." 

"  Oh  !  "  she  cried,  "  that  must  n't  be. 
You  must  not  make  such  a  sacrifice  for  us." 

"  I  'd  do  more  than  that  for  you"  I  said, 
and  I  could  n't  help  putting  a  little  emphasis 
on  the  last  word,  though  I  knew  I  had  no 
right  to  do  it. 

She  understood  me,  and  blushed  rosily, 
even  while  she  protested,  "  It  is  too  much  —  " 

"  There 's  really  no  likelihood,"  I  in 
terrupted,  "  of  my  being  able  to  assume  a 
martyr's  crown,  Miss  Cullen ;  so  don't  begin 
to  pity  me  till  I  'm  behind  the  bars." 

"  But  I  can't  bear  to  think  —  " 

"  Don't,"  I  interrupted  again,  rejoicing  all 
the  time  at  her  evident  anxiety,  and  bless 
ing  my  stars  for  the  luck  they  had  brought 
me.  "  Why,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  went  on, 
"  I  've  become  so  interested  in  your  success 
109 


THE   GREAT 

and  the  licking  of  those  fellows  that  I  really 
think  I  'd  stand  about  anything  rather  than 
that  they  should  win.  Yesterday,  when  Mr. 
Camp  threatened  to  — "  Then  I  stopped, 
as  it  suddenly  occurred  to  me  that  it  was  best 
not  to  tell  Madge  that  I  might  lose  my  posi 
tion,  for  it  would  look  like  a  kind  of  bid  for 
her  favor,  and,  besides,  would  only  add  to 
her  worries. 

"  Threatened  what  ?  "  asked  Miss  Cullen. 

"  Threatened  to  lose  his  temper,"  I 
answered. 

"  You  know  that  was  n't  what  you  were 
going  to  say,"  Madge  said  reproachfully. 

"  No,  it  was  n't,"  I  kughed. 

"  Then  what  was  it  ?  " 

"  Nothing  worth  speaking  about." 

"  But  I  want  to  know  what  he  threatened." 

"  Really,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  began ;  but  she 
interrupted  me  by  saying  anxiously,  — 

"  He  can't  hurt  papa,  can  he  ? " 

"  No,"  I  replied. 

"  Or  my  brothers  ?  " 

"He  can't  touch  any  of  them  without 
no 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

my  help.  And  he  '11  have  work  to  get  that, 
I  suspect." 

"Then  why  can't  you  tell  me?"  de 
manded  Miss  Cullen.  "  Your  refusal  makes 
me  think  you  are  keeping  back  some  danger 
to  them." 

"Why,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  said,  "I  didn't 
like  to  tell  his  threat,  because  it  seemed  — 
well,  I  may  be  wrong,  but  I  thought  it  might 
look  like  an  attempt  —  an  appeal  —  Oh, 
pshaw!  "  I  faltered,  like  a  donkey,  —  "I 
can't  say  it  as  I  want  to  put  it." 

"  Then  tell  me  right  out  what  he  threat 
ened,"  begged  Madge. 

"He  threatened  to  get  me  discharged." 

That  made  Madge  look  very  sober,  and 
for  a  moment  there  was  silence.  Then  she 
said,  — 

"I  never  thought  of  what  you  were  risk 
ing  to  help  us,  Mr.  Gordon.  And  I  'm 
afraid  it 's  too  late  to  —  " 

"Don't  worry  about  me,"  I  hastened  to 
interject.  "  I  'm  a  long  way  from  being  dis 
charged,  and,  even  if  I  should  be,  Miss 
in 


THE   GREAT 

Culien,  I  know  my  business,  and  it  won't  be 
long  before  I  have  another  place." 

"  But  it 's  terrible  to  think  of  the  injury 
we  may  have  caused  you,"  sighed  Madge, 
sadly.  "It  makes  me  hate  the  thought  of 
money." 

"  That 's  a  very  poor  thing  to  hate,"  I 
said,  "  except  the  lack  of  it." 

"  Are  you  so  anxious  to  get  rich  ?  "  asked 
Madge,  looking  up  at  me  quickly,  as  we 
walked,  —  for  we  had  been  pacing  up  and 
down  the  platform  during  our  chat. 

"  I  have  n't  been  till  lately." 

"  And  what  made  you  change  ? "  she 
questioned. 

41  Well,"  I  said,  fishing  round  for  some 
reason  other  than  the  true  one,  "  perhaps  1 
want  to  take  a  rest." 

"  You  are  the  worst  man  for  fibs  I  ever 
knew,"  she  laughed. 

I    felt    myself   getting    red,  while    I    ex 
claimed,  "  Why,  Miss  Culien,  I  never  set  up 
for  a  George  Washington,  but  I  don't  think 
I  *m  a  bit  worse  liar  than  nine  men  in  —  " 
112 


K.   &    A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

"  Oh,"  she  cried,  interrupting  me,  "  1 
did  n't  mean  that  way.  I  meant  that  when 
you  try  to  fib  you  always  do  it  so  badly  that 
one  sees  right  through  you.  Now,  acknowl 
edge  that  you  would  n't  stop  work  if  you 
could  ? " 

"  Well,  no,  I  would  n't,"  I  owned  up. 
« The  truth  is,  Miss  Cullen,  that  I  'd  like 
to  be  rich,  because  —  well,  hang  it,  I  don't 
care  if  I  do  say  it  —  because  I  'm  in  love." 

Madge  laughed  at  my  confusion,  and 
asked,  "  With  money  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  said.  "  With  just  the  nicest, 
sweetest,  prettiest  girl  in  the  world." 

Madge  took  a  look  at  me  out  of  the  corner 
of  her  eye,  and  remarked,  "  It  must  be  break 
fast  time." 

Considering  that  it  was  about  six-thirty,  I 
wanted  to  ask  who  was  telling  a  taradiddle 
now ;  but  I  resisted  the  temptation,  and 
replied, — 

"  No.  And  I  promise  not  to  bother  you 
about  my  private  affairs  any  more." 

Madge  laughed  again  merrily,  saying, 
8  113 


THE   GREAT 

**  You  are  the  most  obvious  man  I  ever  met, 
Now  why  did  you  say  that  ?  " 

u  I  thought  you  were  making  breakfast  an 
excuse,"  I  said,  "  because  you  did  n't  like  the 
subject." 

"  Yes,  I  was,"  said  Madge,  frankly.  «  Tell 
me  about  the  girl  you  are  engaged  to." 

I  was  so  taken  aback  that  I  stopped  in  my 
walk,  and  merely  looked  at  her. 

"  For  instance,"  she  asked  coolly,  when 
she  saw  that  I  was  speechless,  "  what  does 
she  look  like  ?  " 

"Like,  like  —  "I  stammered,  still  em 
barrassed  by  this  bold  carrying  of  the  war  into 
my  own  camp,  —  "  like  an  angel." 

"  Oh,"  said  Madge,  eagerly,  "  I  've  always 
wanted  to  know  what  angels  were  like. 
Describe  her  to  me." 

u  Well,"  I  said,  getting  my  second  wind, 
so  to  speak,  "  she  has  the  bluest  eyes  I  've 
ever  seen.  Why,  Miss  Cullen,  you  said 
you  'd  never  seen  anything  so  blue  as  the 
sky  yesterday ;  but  even  the  atmosphere  of 
4  rainless  Arizona '  has  to  take  a  back  seat 
114 


K.   &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

when  her  eyes  are  round.  And  they  are  just 
like  the  atmosphere  out  here.  You  can  look 
into  them  for  a  hundred  miles,  but  you  can't 
get  to  the  bottom." 

"  The  Arizona  sky  is  wonderful,"  said 
Madge.  "  How  do  the  scientists  account 
for  it?" 

I  was  n't  going  to  have  my  description 
of  Miss  Cullen  side-tracked,  for,  since  she 
had  given  me  the  chance,  I  wanted  her  to 
know  just  what  I  thought  of  her.  Therefore 
I  did  n't  follow  lead  on  the  Arizona  skies, 
but  went  on,  — 

"  And  I  really  think  her  hair  is  just  as 
beautiful  as  her  eyes.  It 's  light  brown,  very 
curly,  and  —  " 

"  Her  complexion  !  "  exclaimed  Madge. 
*'  Is  she  a  mulatto  ?  And,  if  so,  how  can 
a  complexion  be  curly  ? " 

"  Her  complexion,"  I  said,  not  a  bit 
rattled,  "  is  another  great  beauty  of  hers. 
She  has  one  of  those  skins  — " 

"  Furs  are  out  of  fashion  at  present,"  she 
interjected,  laughing  wickedly. 

«s 


THE   GREAT 

"Now  look  here,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  cried, 
indignantly,  "  I  'm  not  going  to  let  even  you 
make  fun  of  her." 

"I  can't  help  it,"  she  laughed,  "when  you 
look  so  serious  and  intense." 

"it's  something  I  feel  intense  about,  Miss 
Cullen,"  I  said,  not  a  little  pained,  I  confess, 
at  the  way  she  was  joking.  I  don't  mind  a 
bit  being  laughed  at,  but  Miss  Cullen  knew,, 
about  as  well  as  I,  whom  I  was  talking 
about,  and  it  seemed  to  me  she  was  laughing 
at  my  love  for  her.  Under  this  impression 
I  went  on,  "  I  suppose  it  is  funny  to  you ;. 
probably  so  many  men  have  been  in  love 
with  you  that  a  man  's  love  for  a  woman  has 
come  to  mean  very  little  in  your  eyes.  But 
out  here  we  don't  make  a  joke  of  love,  and 
when  we  care  for  a  woman  we  care  —  well, 
5t  's  not  to  be  put  in  words,  Miss  Cullen." 

"  I  really  did  n't  mean  to  hurt  your  feel 
ings,  Mr.  Gordon,"  said  Madge,  gently,  and 
quite  serious  now.     "  I   ought   not  to  have 
tried  to  tease  you." 

"There!"  I  said,   my    irritation    entirely 
116 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

gone.  "  I  had  no  right  to  lose  my  temper, 
and  I  'm  sorry  I  spoke  so  unkindly.  The 
truth  is,  Miss  Cullen,  the  girl  I  care  for  is  in 
iove  with  another  man,  and  so  I  '.n  bitter 
-and  ill-natured  in  these  days." 

My  companion  stopped  walking  at  the 
steps  of  218,  and  asked,  "  Has  she  told  you 

«50  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  answered.  "  But  it 's  as  plain 
as  she  's  pretty." 

Madge  ran  up  the  steps  and  opened  the 
<loor  of  the  car.  As  she  turned  to  close  it, 
she  looked  down  at  me  with  the  oddest  of 
expressions,  and  said, — 

"  How  dreadfully  ugly  she  must  be  '  '* 


THE  GREAT 
CHAPTER  X 

WAITING    FOR    HELP 

IF  ever  a  fellow  was  bewildered  by  a  single 
speech,  it  was  Richard  Gordon.  I  walked 
up  and  down  that  platform  till  I  was  called 
to  breakfast,  trying  to  decide  what  Miss 
Cullen  had  meant  to  express,  only  to  suc 
ceed  in  reading  fifty  different  meanings  into 
her  parting  six  words.  I  wanted  to  think 
that  it  was  her  way  of  suggesting  that  I 
deceived  myself  in  thinking  that  there  was 
anything  between  Lord  Ralles  and  herself; 
but,  though  I  wished  to  believe  this,  I  had 
seen  too  much  to  the  contrary  to  take  stock 
in  the  idea.  Yet  I  could  n't  believe  that 
Madge  was  a  coquette  ;  I  became  angry  and 
hot  with  myselt  for  even  thinking  it  for  a 
moment. 

Puzzle  as  I  did  over  the  words,  I  managed 
to  cat  a  good  breakfast,  and  then  went  into 


K.   &   A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

the  Cullens*  car  and  electrified  the  party  by 
telling  them  of  Camp's  and  Fred's  des 
patches,  and  how  I  had  come  to  overhear 
the  former.  Mr.  Cullen  and  Albert  could  n't 
say  enough  about  my  cleverness  in  what  had 
really  been  pure  luck,  and  seemed  to  think 
I  had  sat  up  all  night  in  order  to  hear  that 
telegram.  The  person  for  whose  opinion  I 
cared  the  most  —  Miss  Cullen  —  did  n't  say 
anything,  but  she  gave  me  a  look  that  set  my 
heart  beating  like  a  trip-hammer  and  made 
me  put  the  most  hopeful  construction  on  that 
speech  of  hers.  It  seemed  impossible  that 
she  did  n't  care  for  Lord  Ralles,  and  that  she 
might  care  for  me ;  but,  after  having  had  no 
hope  whatsoever,  the  smallest  crumb  of  a 
chance  nearly  lifted  me  off  my  feet. 

We  had  a  consultation  over  what  was  best 
to  be  done,  but  did  n't  reach  any  definite 
conclusion  till  the  station-agent  brought  me 
a  telegram  from  the  Postmaster-General. 
Breaking  it  open,  I  read  aloud, — 

"  Do  not  allow  service  of  writ,  and  retain 
possession  of  letters  according  to  prior  in« 
119 


THE   GREAT 

^ttuctions.  At  the  request  of  this  depart* 
ment,  the  Secretary  of  War  has  directed  the 
commanding  officer  at  Fort  Whipple  to  fur 
nish  you  with  military  protection,  and  you 
will  call  upon  him  at  once,  if  in  your  judg 
ment  it  is  necessary.  On  no  account  sur 
render  United  States  property  to  TerritoriaV 
authorities.  Keep  Department  notified." 

"  Oh,  splendid  !  "  cried  Madge,  clapping 
her  hands. 

"  Mr.  Camp  will  find  that  other  people 
can  give  surprise  parties  as  well  as  himself,** 
I  said  cheerfully. 

"  You  '11  telegraph  at  once  ?  "  asked  Mr. 
Cullen. 

"  Instantly,"  I  said,  rising,  and  added, 
u  Don't  you  want  to  see  what  I  say,  Miss 
Cullen  ?  " 

"  Of  course  I  do,"  she  cried,  jumping  up 
eagerly. 

Lord  Ralles  scowled  as  he  said,  "  Yes ; 
let's  see  what  Mr.  Superintendent  has  to 
say." 

u  You  need  n't  trouble  yourself,"  I  re- 
120 


K.    &   A.    TRAIN-ROBBERY 

marked,  but  he  followed  us  into  the  station. 
I  was  disgusted,  but  at  the  same  time  it 
seemed  to  me  that  he  had  come  because  he 
was  jealous ;  and  that  was  n't  an  unpleasant 
thought.  Whatever  his  motive,  he  was  a 
third  party  in  the  writing  of  that  telegram, 
and  had  to  stand  by  while  Miss  Cullen  and 
I  discussed  and  draughted  it.  I  did  n't  try  to 
make  it  any  too  brief,  not  merely  asHng  for 
a  guard  and  when  I  might  expect  it,  but  giv 
ing  as  well  a  pretty  full  history  of  the  case, 
which  was  hardly  necessary. 

"  You  '11  bankrupt  yourself,"  laughed 
Madge.  "  You  must  let  us  pay." 

"  I  '11  let  you  pay,  Miss  Cullen,  if  you 
want,"  I  offered.  "  How  much  is  it,  Wei- 
ply  ?  "  I  asked,  shoving  the  blanks  in  to  the 
operator. 

"  Nothin'  for  a  lady,"  said  Welply,  grinning. 

"There,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  asked,  "does 
the  East  come  up  to  that  in  gallantry  ?  " 

"  Do  you   really    mean   that    there    is  no 
charge  ?  "    demanded    Madge,   incredulously^ 
with  her  purse  in  her  hand. 
121 


THE   GREAT 

**  That 's  the  size  of  it,"  said  the  operator. 

"  I  'm  not  going  to  believe  that  !  "  cried 
Madge.  "  I  know  you  are  only  deceiving 
me,  and  I  really  want  to  pay." 

I  laughed  as  I  said,  "  Sometimes  railroad 
superintendents  can  send  messages  free,  Miss 
Cullen." 

"  How  silly  of  me  !  "  exclaimed  Madge. 
Then  she  remarked,  "  How  nice  it  is  to  be  a 
railroad  superintendent,  Mr.  Gordon !  I 
should  like  to  be  one  myself." 

That  speech  really  lifted  me  off  my  feet, 
but  while  I  was  thinking  what  response 
to  make,  I  came  down  to  earth  with  a 
bounce. 

"  Since  the  telegram 's  done,"  said  Lord 
Ralles  to  Miss  Cullen,  in  a  cool,  almost  com 
manding  tone,  "  suppose  we  take  a  walk." 

"I  don't  think  I  care  to  this  morning," 
answered  Madge. 

"  I  think  you  had  better,"  insisted  his  lord 
ship,  with  such  a  manner  that  I  felt  inclined 
to  knock  him  down. 

To  my  surprise,  Madge  seemed  to  hesitate, 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

*nd  finally  said,  "  I  T  walk  up  and  down  the 
platform,  if  you  wish  ' 

Lord  Ralles  nodded,  and  they  went  outv 
leaving  me  in  a  state  of  mingled  amazement 
and  rage  at  the  way  he  had  cut  me  out.  Try 
as  I  would,  I  wasn't  able  to  hit  upon  any 
theory  that  supplied  a  solution  to  the  conduct 
of  either  Lord  Ralles  or  Miss  Cullen,  unless 
they  were  engaged  and  Miss  Cullen  displeased 
him  by  her  behavior  to  me.  But  Madge 
seemed  such  an  honest,  frank  girl  that  I  'i 
have  believed  anything  sooner  than  that  sh» 
was  only  playing  with  me. 

If  I  was  perplexed,  I  was  n't  going  to  givt 
Lord  Ralles  the  right  of  way,  and  as  soon  as 
i  had  made  certain  that  the  telegram  was 
safely  started  I  joined  the  walkers.  I  don't 
chink  any  of  us  enjoyed  the  hour  that  fol 
lowed,  but  I  did  n't  care  how  miserable  I  was 
myself,  so  long  as  I  was  certain  that  I  was 
blocking  Lord  Ralles  ;  and  his  grumpiness 
showed  very  clearly  that  my  presence  d\& 
that.  As  for  Madge,  I  could  n't  make  her 
out.  1  had  always  thought  I  understood 
123 


THE   GREAT 

women  a  little,  but  her  conduct  was  beyond 
understanding. 

Apparently  Miss  Cullen  did  n't  altogether 
relish  her  position,  for  presently  she  said  she 
was  going  to  the  car.  "I'm  sure  you  and 
Lord  Ralles  will  be  company  enough  for 
each  other,"  she  predicted,  giving  me  a  flash 
of  her  eyes  which  showed  them  full  of  sup 
pressed  merriment,  even  while  her  face  was 
grave. 

In  spite  of  her  prediction,  the  moment  she 
was  gone  Lord  Railes  and  I  pulled  apart 
about  as  quickly  as  a  yard-engine  can  split  a 
couple  of  cars. 

I  moped  around  for  an  hour,  too  unsettled 
mentally  to  do  anything  but  smoke,  and  only 
waiting  for  an  invitation  or  for  some  excuse 
to  go  into  218.  About  eleven  o'clock  1  ob 
tained  the  latter  in  another  telegram,  and 
went  into  the  car  at  once. 

"  Telegram  received,"  I  read  triumphantly 

c<  A  detail  of  two  companies  of  the  Twelfth 

Cavalry,    under   the    command    of    Captain 

Singer,  is  ordered    to  Ash   Forks,  and   wiL 

124 


K.   &   A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

ttart  within  an  hour,  arriving  at  five  o'clock 
C.  D.  OLMSTEAD,  Adjutant." 

"That  won't  do,  Gordon,"  cried  Mr. 
Cullen.  "  The  mandamus  will  be  here  be 
fore  that." 

**  Oh,  don't  say  there  is  something  more 
wrong  !  "  sighed  Madge. 

**  Won't  it  be  safer  to  run  while  there  n 
«till  time  ?  "  suggested  Albert,  anxiously. 

44 1  was  born  lazy  about  running  away,"  I 
•aid. 

tt  Oh,  but  please,  just  for  once,"  Madge 
begged.  "We  know  already  how  brave 
you  are." 

I  thought  for  a  moment,  not  so  much 
objecting,  in  truth,  to  the  running  away  as 
to  the  running  away  from  Madge. 

"  I  'd  do  it  for  you,"  I  said,  looking  at 
Miss  Cullen  so  that  she  understood  this  time 
what  I  meant,  without  my  using  any  emphasis, 
44  but  I  don't  see  any  need  of  making  myself 
uncomfortable,  when  I  can  make  the  other 
side  so.  Come  along  and  see  if  my  method 
*s  n't  quite  as  good." 

125 


THE   GREAT 

We  went  to  the  station,  and  I  told  th* 
operator  to  call  Rock  Butte ;  then  I  dictated  • 

tt  Direct  conductor  of  Phoenix  No.  3  on 
*C8  arrival  at  Rock  Butte  to  hold  it  there 
till  further  orders.  RICHARD  GORDON. 
Superintendent." 

u  That  will  save  my  running  and  theii 
chasing,"  I  laughed  ;  "  though  I  'm  afraid 
a  long  vait  in  Rock  Butte  won't  improve 
their  tempers." 

The  next  few  hours  were  pretty  exciting 
ones  to  all  of  us,  as  can  well  be  imagined. 
Most  of  the  time  was  spent,  I  have  to  con 
fess,  in  manoeuvres  and  struggles  between 
Lord  Ralles  and  myself  as  to  which  should 
monopolize  Madge,  without  either  of  us 
succeeding.  I  was  so  engrossed  with  the 
contest  that  I  forgot  all  about  the  passage  of 
time,  and  only  when  the  sheriff  strolled  up  to 
the  station  did  I  realize  that  the  climax  was 
at  hand.  As  a  joke  I  introduced  him  to 
the  Cullens,  and  we  all  stood  chatting  til', 
far  out  on  the  hill  to  the  south  I  saw  a  cloud 
of  dust  and  quietly  called  Miss  Cullen's  at- 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

tention  to  it.  She  and  I  went  to  97  for  my 
neld-glasses,  and  the  moment  Madge  looked 
through  them  she  cried, — 

"  Yes,  I  can  see  horses,  and,  oh,  there  are 
:he  stars  and  stripes !  I  don't  think  I  evei 
,oved  them  so  much  before." 

"  I  suppose  we  civilians  will  have  to  take 
A  back  seat  now,  Miss  Cullen  ?  "  I  said  j  and 
she  answered  me  with  a  demure  smile  worth 
—  well,  I  'm  not  going  to  put  a  value  on 
that  smile. 

"  They  '11  be  here  very  quickly,"  she  al 
most  sang. 

"  You  forget  the  clearness  of  the  air,"  I 
said,  and  then  asked  the  sheriff  how  far 
away  the  dust-cloud  was. 

"  Yer  mean  that  cattle-drive  ?  "  he  asked, 
'«•  'Bout  ten  miles." 

"  You  seem  to  think  of  everything,"  ex 
claimed  Miss  Cullen,  as  if  my  knowing  that 
distances  are  deceptive  in  Arizona  was  won- 
Jerful.  I  sometimes  think  one  gets  the 
oiost  praise  in  this  world  for  what  least 
Deserves  it. 

127 


THE   GREAT 

I  waited  half  an  hour  to  be  safe,  and  the* 
released  No.  3,  just  as  we  were  called  tfl 
luncheon  ;  and  this  time  I  did  n't  refuse  the 
invitation  to  eat  mine  in  218. 

We  did  n't  hurry  over  the  meal,  and 
towards  the  end  I  took  to  looking  at  my 
watch,  wondering  what  could  keep  the  cav 
alry  from  arriving. 

"  I  hope  there  is  no  danger  of  the  train 
arriving  first,  is  there  ?  "  asked  Madge. 

"  Not  the  slightest,"  I  assured  her.  "  The 
train  won't  be  here  for  an  hour,  and  the 
cavalry  had  only  five  miles  to  cover  forty 
minutes  ago.  I  must  say,  they  seem  to  be 
taking  their  time." 

"There  they  are  now  !  "  cried  Albert, 

Listening,  we  heard  the  clatter  of  horses' 
feet,  going  at  a  good  pace,  and  we  all  rose 
and  went  to  the  windows,  to  see  the  arrival 
Our  feelings  can  be  judged  when  across  the 
tracks  came  only  a  mob  of  thirty  or  forty 
cowboys,  riding  in  their  usual  "show-off" 
style. 

**  The  deuce  ! "  I  could  n't  help  exclaim- 
128 


K.  &    A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

ing,  in  my  surprise.  "  Are  you  sure  you 
saw  a  flag,  Miss  Cullen  ?  " 

«  Why  —  I  —  thought  —  "  she  faltered, 
"  I  saw  something  red,  and  —  I  supposed  of 
course  —  " 

Not  waiting  to  let  her  finish,  I  exclaimed, 
41  There 's  been  a  fluke  somewhere,  I  'm 
afraid;  but  we  are  still  in  good  shape,  for 
the  train  can't  possibly  be  here  under  an 
hour.  I  '11  get  my  field-glasses  and  have 
another  look  before  I  decide  what  —  " 

My  speech  was  interrupted  by  the  en 
trance  of  the  sheriff"  and  Mr.  Camp ! 


1*9 


THE   GREAT 
CHAPTER   XI 

THE     LETTERS    CHANGE     HANDS     AGAIN 

WHAT  seemed  at  the  moment  an  incompre 
hensible  puzzle  had,  as  we  afterwards  learned, 
a  very  simple  explanation.  One  of  the  G 
S.  directors,  Mr.  Baldwin,  who  had  come  ir 
on  Mr.  Camp's  car,  was  the  owner  of  a 
great  cattle-ranch  near  Rock  Butte.  When 
the  train  had  been  held  at  that  station  for  a 
few  minutes,  Camp  went  to  the  conductor, 
demanded  the  cause  for  the  delay,  and  was 
shown  my  telegram.  Seeing  through  the 
device,  the  party  had  at  once  gone  to  this 
ranch,  where  the  owner,  Baldwin,  mounted 
them,  and  it  was  their  dust-cloud  we  had 
seen  as  they  rode  up  to  Ash  Forks.  To 
make  matters  more  serious,  Baldwin  had 
•rounded  up  his  cowboys  and  brought  them 
along  with  him,  in  order  to  make  any  resist 
ance  impossible. 

130 


K.   &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

I  made  no  objection  to  the  sheriff  serving 
the  paper,  though  it  nearly  broke  my  heart 
to  see  Madge's  face.  To  cheer  her  I  said, 
suggestively,  "  They  've  got  me,  but  they 
have  n't  got  the  letters,  Miss  Cullen.  And, 
remember,  it's  always  darkest  before  the 
dawn,  and  the  stars  in  their  courses  are 
against  Sisera." 

With  the  sheriff  and  Mr.  Camp  I  then 
walked  over  to  the  saloon,  where  Judge 
Wilson  was  waiting  to  dispose  of  my  case. 
Mr.  Cullen  and  Albert  tried  to  come  too, 
but  all  outsiders  were  excluded  by  order  of 
the  "  court."  I  was  told  to  show  cause 
why  I  should  not  forthwith  produce  the 
letters,  and  answered  that  I  asked  an  ad 
journment  of  the  case  so  that  I  might  be 
heard  by  counsel.  It  was  denied,  as  was 
to  have  been  expected ;  indeed,  why  they 
took  the  trouble  to  go  through  the  forms 
was  beyond  me.  I  told  Wilson  I  should 
not  produce  the  letters,  and  he  asked  if  I 
knew  what  that  meant.  I  could  n't  help 
laughing  and  retorting,  — 

13* 


THE   GREAT 

"It  very  appropriately  means  'contempt 
of  the  court,'  your  honor." 

"  I  '11  give  you  a  stiff  term,  young  man,*' 
he  said. 

u  It  will  take  just  one  day  to  have  habeas 
corpus  proceedings  in  a  United  States  court, 
and  one  more  to  get  the  papers  here,"  I 
rejoined  pleasantly. 

Seeing  that  I  understood  the  moves  too 
well  to  be  bluffed,  the  judge,  Mr.  Camp,  and 
the  lawyer  held  a  whispered  consultation. 
My  surprise  can  be  imagined  when,  at  its 
conclusion,  Mr.  Camp  said, — - 

"  Your  honor,  I  charge  Richard  Gor 
don  with  being  concerned  in  the  holding 
up  of  the  Missouri  Western  Overland 
No.  3  on  the  night  of  October  14,  and 
ask  that  he  be  taken  into  custody  on  that 
charge." 

I  could  n't  make  out  this  new  move,  and 
puzzled  over  it,  while  Judge  Wilson  ordered 
my  commitment.  But  the  next  step  revealed 
the  object,  for  the  lawyer  then  asked  for  a 
search-warrant  to  look  for  stolen  property. 
132 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

The  judge  was  equally  obliging,  and  began 
to  fill  one  out  on  the  instant. 

This  made  me  feel  pretty  serious,  for  the 
letters  were  in  my  breast-pocket,  and  I  swore 
at  my  own  stupidity  in  not  having  put  them 
in  the  station  safe  when  I  had  first  arrived  at 
Ash  Forks.  There  were  n't  many  moments 
in  which  to  think  while  the  judge  scribbled 
away  at  the  warrant,  but  in  what  time  there 
was  I  did  a  lot  of  head-work,  without,  how 
ever,  finding  more  than  one  way  out  of  the 
snarl.  And  when  I  saw  the  judge  finish  off 
his  signature  with  a  flourish,  I  played  a  pretty 
desperate  card. 

u  You  're  just  too  late,  gentlemen,"  I  said, 
pointing  out  the  side  window  of  the  saloon. 
"  There  come  the  cavalry." 

The  three  conspirators  jumped  to  their  feet 
and  bolted  for  the  window ;  even  the  sheriff 
turned  to  look.  As  he  did  so  I  gave  him  a 
shove  towards  the  three  which  sent  them  ali 
sprawling  on  the  floor  in  a  pretty  badly 
mixed-up  condition.  I  made  a  dash  for  the 
door,  and  as  I  went  through  it  I  grabbed  tha 
133 


THE    GREAT 

key  and  locked  them  in.  When  I  turned  to 
do  so  I  saw  the  lot  struggling  up  from  the 
floor,  and,  knowing  that  it  would  n't  take 
them  many  seconds  to  find  their  way  out 

through   the  window,  I    didn't   waste    L  uch 

°  \ 

time   in  watching  them. 

Camp,  Baldwin,  and  the  judge  had  left 
their  horses  just  outside  the  saloon,  and  there 
they  were  still  patiently  standing,  with  their 
bridles  thrown  over  their  heads,  as  only 
Western  horses  will  stand.  It  did  n't  take 
me  long  to  have  those  bridles  back  in  place, 
and  as  I  tossed  each  over  the  peak  of  the 
Mexican  saddle  I  gave  two  of  the  ponies 
slaps  which  started  them  off  at  a  lope  across 
the  railroad  tracks.  I  swung  myself  into  the 
saddle  of  the  third,  and  flicked  him  with  the 
loose  ends  of  the  bridle  in  a  way  which  made 
him  understand  that  I  meant  business. 

Baldwin's  cowboys  had  most  of  them  scat 
tered  to  the  various  saloons  of  the  place,  but 
two  of  them  were  standing  in  the  door-way 
of  a  store.  I  acted  so  quickly,  however,  that 
they  did  n't  seem  to  take  in  what  i  was 


K.  &   A.    TRAIN-ROBBERY 

about  till  I  was  well  mounted.  Then  I 
heard  a  yell,  and  fearing  that  they  might 
shoot,  —  for  the  cowboy  does  love  to  use  his 
gun,  —  I  turned  sharp  at  the  saloon  corner 
and  rode  up  the  side  street,  just  in  tim»  to 
see  Camp  climbing  through  the  window,  with 
Baldwin's  head  in  view  behind  him. 

Before  I  had  ridden  a  hundred  feet  I 
realized  that  I  had  a  done-up  horse  under 
me,  and,  considering  that  he  ha  covered 
over  forty  miles  that  afternoon  in  pretty 
quick  time,  it  was  not  surprising  that  there 
was  n't  very  much  go  left  in  him.  I  knew 
that  Baldwin's  cowboys  could  get  new 
mounts  in  plenty  without  wasting  many 
minutes,  and  that  then  they  would  overhaul 
me  in  very  short  order.  Clearly  there  was  no 
use  in  my  attempting  to  escape  by  running. 
And,  as  I  was  n't  armed,  my  only  hope  was 
to  beat  them  by  some  finesse. 

Ash  Forks,  like  all  Western  railroad  towns, 

is  one  long  line  of  buildings  running  parallel 

with  the  railway  tracks.     Two  hundred  feet, 

therefore,  brought   me    to    the    edge   of   the 

'35 


THE   GREAT 

town,  and  I  wheeled  my  pony  and  rode  down 
behind  the  rear  of  the  buildings.  In  turning, 
I  looked  back,  and  saw  half  a  dozen  mounted 
men  already  in  pursuit,  but  I  lost  sight  of  them 
the  next  moment.  As  soon  as  I  reached  a 
street  leading  back  to  the  railroad  I  turned 
again,  and  rode  towards  it,  my  one  thought 
being  to  get  back,  if  possible,  to  the  station,  and 
put  the  letters  into  the  railroad  agent's  safe. 

When  I  reached  the  main  street  I  saw 
that  my  hope  was  futile,  for  another  batch  of 
cowboys  were  coming  in  full  gallop  towards 
me,  very  thoroughly  heading  me  off  in  that 
direction.  To  escape  them,  I  headed  up  the 
street  away  from  the  station,  with  the  pack  in 
close  pursuit.  They  yelled  at  me  to  hold 
up,  and  I  expected  every  moment  to  hear  the 
crack  of  revolvers,  for  the  poorest  shot  among 
them  would  have  found  no  difficulty  in  drop 
ping  my  horse  at  that  distance  if  they  had 
wanted  to  stop  me.  It  is  n't  a  very  nice 
sensation  to  keep  your  ears  pricked  up  in 
expectation  of  hearing  the  shooting  begin^ 
and  to  know  that  any  moment  may  be  your 
136 


K.  &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

last.  I  don't  suppose  I  was  on  the  ragged 
edge  more  than  thirty  seconds,  but  they  were 
enough  to  prove  to  me  that  to  keep  one's 
back  turned  to  an  enemy  as  one  runs  away 
takes  a  deal  more  pluck  than  to  stand  up  and 
face  his  gun.  Fortunately  for  me,  my  pur 
suers  felt  so  sure  of  my  capture  that  not  one 
of  them  drew  a  bead  on  me. 

The  moment  I  saw  that  there  was  no 
escape,  I  put  my  hand  in  my  breast-pocket 
and  took  out  the  letters,  intending  to  tear 
them  into  a  hundred  pieces.  But  as  I  did  so 
I  realized  that  to  destroy  United  States  mail 
not  merely  entailed  criminal  liability,  but  was 
off  color  morally.  I  faltered,  balancing  the 
outwitting  of  Camp  against  State's  prison,  the 
doing  my  best  for  Madge  against  the  wrong 
of  it.  I  think  I  'ni  as  honest  a  fellow  as  the 
average,  but  I  have  to  confess  that  I  could  n't 
decide  to  do  right  till  I  thought  that  Madge 
would  n't  want  me  to  be  dishonest,  even 
for  her. 

I  turned  across  the  railroad  tracks,  and  cut 
in  behind  some  freight-cars  that  were  stand- 
J37 


THE   GREAT 

ing  on  a  siding.  This  put  me  out  of  view 
of  my  pursuers  for  a  moment,  and  in  that 
instant  I  stood  up  in  my  stirrups,  lifted 
the  broad  leather  flap  of  the  saddle,  and 
tucked  the  letters  underneath  it,  as  far  in  as 
I  could  force  them.  It  w~s  a  desperate  place 
in  which  to  hide  them,  but  the  game  was  a 
desperate  one  at  best,  and  the  very  boldness 
of  the  idea  might  be  its  best  chance  ot 
success. 

I  was  now  heading  for  the  station  over 
the  ties,  and  was  surprised  to  see  Fred  Cullen 
with  Lord  Ralles  on  the  tracks  up  by  the 
special,  for  my  mind  had  been  so  busy  in  the 
last  hour  that  I  had  forgotten  that  Fred  was 
due.  The  moment  I  saw  him,  I  rode 
towards  him,  pressing  my  pony  for  all  he  was 
worth.  My  hope  was  that  I  might  get  time 
to  give  Fred  the  tip  as  to  where  the  letters 
were;  but  before  I  was  within  speaking 
distance  Baldwin  came  running  out  from 
behind  the  station,  and,  seeing  me,  turned, 
called  back  and  gesticulated,  evidently  to 
summon  some  cowboys  to  head  me  off. 
138 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-JOBBERY 

Afraid  to  shout  anything  which  should  con 
vey  the  slightest  clue  as  to  the  whereabouts 
of  the  letters,  as  the  next  bes*  thing  I  pulled 
a  couple  of  old  section  reports  from  my 
pocket,  intending  to  ride  up  and  run  into  my 
car,  for  I  knew  that  the  papers  in  my  hand 
would  be  taken  to  be  the  wanted  letters,  and 
that  if  I  could  only  get  inside  the  car  even 
for  a  moment  the  suspicion  would  be  that  7 
had  been  able  to  hide  them.  Unfortunately, 
the  plan  was  no  sooner  thought  of  than  I 
heard  the  whistle  of  a  lariat,  and  before  I 
could  guard  myself  the  noose  settled  over  my 
head.  I  threw  the  papers  towards  Fred  and 
Lord  Ralles,  shouting,  u  Hide  them !  "  Fred 
was  quick  as  a  flash,  and,  grabbing  them  off 
the  ground,  sprang  up  the  steps  of  my  car 
and  ran  inside,  just  escaping  a  bullet  from  my 
pursuers.  I  tried  to  pull  up  my  pony,  for  I 
did  not  want  to  be  jerked  off,  but  I  was  too 
late,  and  the  next  moment  I  was  lying  on 
the  ground  in  a  pretty  well  shaken  and 
jarred  condition,  surrounded  by  a  lot  of 
men. 

1.39 


THE   GREAT 


CHAPTER   XII 

AN    EVENING   IN   JAIL 

BEFORE  my  ideas  had  had  time  to  straighten 
themselves  out,  I  was  lifted  to  my  feet,  and 
half  pushed,  half  lifted  to  the  station  platform. 
Camp  was  already  there,  and  as  I  took  this 
fact  in  I  saw  Frederic  and  his  lordship  pulled 
through  the  doorway  of  my  car  by  the  cow 
boys  and  dragged  out  on  the  platform  beside 
me.  The  reports  were  now  in  Lord  Ralles's 
hands. 

"  That  's  what  we  want,  boys,"  cried 
Camp.  "Those  letters." 

"  Take  your  hands  off  me,"  said  Lord 
Ralles,  coolly,  "  and  I  '11  give  them  to  you." 

The    men    who     had    hold    of    his   arms 

let  go  of  him,  and  quick  as  a  flash  Ralles 

tore  the  papers   in   two.     He    tried   to  tear 

them   once  more,  but,  before  he  could   do 

140 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

so,  half  a  dozen  men  were  holding  him, 
and  the  papers  were  forced  out  of  his 
hands. 

Albert  Cullen  —  for  all  of  them  were  on 
the  platform  of  218  by  this  time  —  shouted, 
u  Well  done,  Ralles  !  "  quite  forgetting  in 
the  excitement  of  the  moment  his  English 
accent  and  drawl. 

Apparently  Camp  did  n't  agree  with  him, 
for  he  ripped  out  a  string  of  oaths  which  he 
impartially  divided  among  Ralles,  the  cow 
boys,  and  myself.  I  was  decidedly  sorry 
that  I  had  n't  given  the  real  letters,  for  his 
lordship  clearly  had  no  scruple  about  destroy 
ing  them,  and  I  knew  few  men  whom  I  would 
have  seen  behind  prison-bars  with  as  little 
personal  regret.  However,  no  one  had,  so 
far  as  I  could  see,  paid  the  slightest  atten 
tion  to  the  pony,  and  the  probabilities  were 
that  he  was  already  headed  for  Baldwin's 
ranch,  with  no  likelihood  of  his  stopping 
till  he  reached  home.  At  least  that  was 
what  I  hoped ;  but  there  were  a  lot  of 
ponies  standing  about,  and,  not  knowing  the 
141 


THE   GREAT 

markings  of  the  one  I  had  ridden,  I  was  n't 
able  to  tell  whether  he  might  not  be  among 
them. 

Just  as  the  fragments  of  the  papers  were 
passed  over  to  Mr.  Camp,  he  was  joined  by 
Baldwin  and  the  judge,  and  Camp  held  the 
torn  pieces  up  to  them,  saying, — 

"  They  've  torn  the  proxies  in  two." 

"  Don't  let  that  trouble  you,"  said  the 
judge.  "  Make  an  affidavit  before  me, 
reciting  the  manner  in  which  they  were 
destroyed,  and  I  '11  grant  you  a  mandamus 
compelling  the  directors  to  accept  them  as 
bona-fide  proxies.  Let  me  see  how  much 
injured  they  are." 

Camp  unfolded  the  papers,  and  I  chuckled 
to  myself  at  the  look  of  surprise  that  over 
spread  his  face  as  he  took  in  the  fact  that 
they  were  nothing  but  section  reports.  And, 
though  I  don't  like  cuss-words,  I  have  to 
acknowledge  that  I  enjoyed  the  two  or 
three  that  he  promptly  ejaculated. 

When  the  first  surprise  of  the  trio  was 
over,  they  called  on  the  sheriff,  who  arrived 
142 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

opportunely,  to  take  us  into  97  and  search 
the  three  of  us,  —  a  proceeding  that  puzzled 
Fred  and  his  lordship  not  a  little,  for  they 
were  n't  on  to  the  fact  that  the  letters  had  n't 
been  recovered.  I  presume  the  latter  will 
some  day  write  a  book  dwelling  on  the 
favorite  theme  of  the  foreigner,  that  there 
is  no  personal  privacy  in  America,  and  I 
don't  know  but  his  experiences  justify  the 
view.  The  running  remarks  as  the  search 
was  made  seemed  to  open  Fred's  eyes,  for 
he  looked  at  me  with  a  puzzled  air,  but  I 
winked  and  frowned  at  him,  and  he  put  his 
face  in  order. 

When  the  papers  were  not  found  on  any 
of  us,  Camp  and  Baldwin  both  nearly  went 
demented.  Baldwin  suggested  that  I  had 
never  had  the  papers,  but  Camp  argued  that 
Fred  or  Lord  Ralles  must  have  hidden  them 
in  the  car,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  cow 
boys  who  had  caught  them  insisted  that  they 
could  n't  have  had  time  to  hide  the  papers. 
Anyway,  they  spent  an  hour  in  ferreting 
about  in  my  car,  and  even  searched  my  two 
'43 


THE    GREAT 

darkies,  on  the  possibility  that  the  true  letter* 
had  been  passed  on  to  them. 

While  they  were  engaged  in  this,  I  was 
trying  to  think  out  some  way  of  letting  Mr. 
Cullen  and  Albert  know  where  the  letters 
were.  The  problem  was  to  suggest  the 
saddle  to  them,  without  letting  the  cowboys 
understand,  and  by  good  luck  I  thought  I 
had  the  means.  Albert  had  complained  to 
me  the  day  we  had  ridden  out  to  the  Indian 
dwellings  at  Flagstaff  that  his  saddle  fretted 
some  galled  spots  which  he  had  chafed  on 
his  trip  to  Moran's  Point.  Hoping  he  would 
*'  catch  on,"  I  shouted  to  him,  — 

"  How  are  your  sore  spots,  Albert  ?  " 

He  looked  at  me  in  a  puzzled  way, 
and  called,  "  Aw,  I  don't  understand 
you." 

"  Those  sore  spots  you  complained  about  to 
me  the  day  before  yesterday,"  I  explained. 

He  did  n't  seem  any  the  less  befogged  as 
he  replied,  "  1  had  forgotten  all  about 
them." 

a  I  Ve  got  a  touch  of  the  same  trouble," 
-44 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

1  went  on ;  "  and,  if  I  were  you,  I  'd  look 
into  the  cause." 

Albert  only  looked  very  much  mystified, 
and  I  did  n't  dare  say  more,  for  at  this  point 
the  trio,  with  the  sheriff,  came  out  of  my 
car.  If  I  had  n't  known  that  the  letters 
were  safe,  I  could  have  read  the  story  in 
their  faces,  for  more  disgusted  and  angry- 
looking  men  I  have  rarely  seen. 

They  had  a  talk  with  the  sheriff,  and 
then  Fred,  Lord  Ralles,  and  I  were  marched 
off  by  the  official,  his  lordship  loudly  demand 
ing  sight  of  a  warrant,  and  protesting  against 
the  illegality  of  his  arrest,  varied  at  moments 
by  threats  to  appeal  to  the  British  consul, 
minister  plenipo.,  her  Majesty's  Foreign 
Office,  etc.,  all  of  which  had  about  as  much 
influence  on  the  sheriff  and  his  cowboy 
assistants  as  a  Moqui  Indian  snake-dance 
would  have  in  stopping  a  runaway  engine. 
I  confess  to  feeling  a  certain  grim  satisfaction 
in  the  fact  that  if  I  was  to  be  shut  off  from 
seeing  Madge,  the  Britisher  was  in  the  same 
box  with  me. 

10  145 


THE   GREAT 

Ash  Forks,  though  only  six  years  old,  had 
advanced  far  enough  towards  civilization  to 
have  a  small  jail,  and  into  that  we  were 
shoved.  Night  was  come  by  the  time  we 
were  lodged  there,  and,  being  in  pretty  good 
appetite,  I  struck  the  sheriff  for  some 
grub. 

u  I  Ml  git  yer  something"  he  said,  good- 
naturedly  ;  "  but  next  time  yer  shove  people, 
Mr.  Gordon,  just  quit  shovin*  yer  friends. 
My  shoulder  feels  like — "  perhaps  it  *s  just 
as  well  not  to  say  what  his  shoulder  felt 
like.  The  Western  vocabulary  is  expressive, 
but  at  times  not  quite  fit  for  publication. 

The  moment  the  sheriff"  was  gone,  Fred 
wanted  the  mystery  of  the  letters  explained, 
and  I  told  him  all  there  was  to  tell,  including 
as  good  a  description  of  the  pony  as  I  could 
give  him.  We  tried  to  hit  on  some  plan  to 
get  word  to  those  outside,  but  it  was  n't  to 
be  done.  At  least  it  was  a  point  gained  that 
some  one  of  our  party  besides  myself  knew 
where  the  letters  were. 

The  sheriff  returned  presently  with  a  loal 
146 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

of  canned  bread  and  a  tin  of  beans.  If  I 
had  been  alone,  I  should  have  kicked  at  the 
food  and  got  permission  for  my  darkies  to 
send  me  up  something  from  97 ;  but  1 
thought  I  'd  see  how  Lord  Ralles  would 
like  genuine  Western  fare,  so  1  said  noth 
ing.  That,  I  have  to  state,  is  more  —  01 
rather  less  —  than  the  Britisher  did,  aftei 
he  had  sampled  the  stuff;  and  really  I  don't 
blame  him,  much  as  I  enjoyed  his  rage  and 
disgust. 

It  did  n'r  take  long  to  finish  our  supper, 
and  then  Fred,  who  had  n't  slept  much  the 
night  before,  stretched  out  on  the  floor  and 
went  to  sleep.  Lord  Ralles  and  I  sat  on 
boxes  —  the  only  furniture  the  room  con 
tained  —  about  as  far  apart  as  we  could  get, 
he  in  the  sulks,  and  I  whistling  cheerfully. 
I  should  have  liked  to  be  with  Madge,  but 
he  was  n't ;  so  there  was  some  compensa 
tion,  and  I  knew  that  time  was  playing  the 
cards  in  our  favor:  so  long  as  they  hadn't 
found  the  letters  we  had  only  to  sit  still  to 
win. 

M7 


THE   GREAT 

About  an  hour  after  supper,  the  sheriff 
came  back  and  told  me  Camp  and  Baldwin 
wanted  to  see  me.  I  saw  no  reason  to  ob 
ject,  so  in  they  came,  accompanied  by  the 
judge.  Baldwin  opened  the  ball  by  saying 
genially,  — 

"  Well,  Mr.  Gordon,  you  've  played  a 
pretty  cute  gamble,  and  I  suppose  you  think 
you  stand  to  win  the  pot." 

"  I  'm  not  complaining,"  I  said. 

Cl  Still,'*  snarled  Camp,  angrily,  as  if  my 
contented  manner  fretted  him,  "  our  time 
will  come  presently,  and  we  can  make  it 
pretty  uncomfortable  for  you.  Illegal  pro 
ceedings  put  a  man  in  jail  in  the  long 
run." 

w  I  hope  you  take  your  lesson  to  heart," 
I  remarked  cheerfully,  which  made  Camp 
scowl  worse  than  ever. 

"  Now,"  said  Baldwin,  who  kept  cool, 
"  we  know  you  are  not  risking  loss  of 
position  and  the  State's  prison  for  nothing, 
and  we  want  to  know  what  there  is  in  it  for 
you  ? " 

148 


Kr   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

a  I  would  n't  stake  my  chance  of  State's 
prison  against  yours,  gentlemen.  And,  while 
I  may  lose  my  position,  I  '11  be  a  long  way 
from  starvation." 

11  That  does  n't  tell  us  what  Cullen  gives 
you  to  take  the  risk." 

"Mr.  Cullen  has  n't  given,  or  even  hinted 
that  he  ll  give,  anything." 

u  And  Mr.  Gordon  has  n't  asked,  and,  if 
I  know  him,  would  n't  take  a  cent  for  what 
he  has  done,"  said  Fred,  rising  from  the 
floor. 

"  You  mean  to  say  you  are  doing  it  for 
nothing  ?  "  exclaimed  Camp,  incredulously. 

"  That 's  about  the  truth  of  it,"  I  said ; 
though  I  thought  of  Madge  as  I  said  it, 
and  felt  guilty  in  suggesting  that  she  was 
nothing. 

"  Then  what  is  your  motive  ?  "  cried 
Baldwin. 

If  there  had  been  any  use,  I  should  have 

replied,  "  The  right ;  "  but  I  knew  that  they 

would  only  think  I  was  posing  if  I  said   it. 

Instead  I  replied  :  "  Mr.  Cullen's  party  has 

149 


THE   GREAT 

the  stock  majority  in  their  favor,  and  would 
have  won  a  fair  fight  if  you  had  played  fair. 
Since  you  did  n't,  I  'm  doing  my  best  to  put 
things  to  rights." 

Camp  cried,  "  All  the  more  fool  —  "  but 
Baldwin  interrupted  him  by  saying,  — 

41  That  only  shows  what  a  mean  cuss 
Cullen  is.  He  ought  to  give  you  ten  thou 
sand,  if  he  gives  you  a  cent." 

"  Yes,"  cried  Camp,  "  those  letters  are 
worth  money,  whether  he 's  offered  it  or 
not." 

"  Mr.  Cullen  never  so  much  as  hinted 
paying  me,"  said  I. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Gordon,"  said  Baldwin, 
suavely,  "  we  '11  show  you  that  we  can  be 
more  liberal.  Though  the  letters  rightfully 
belong  to  Mr.  Camp,  if  you  '11  deliver  them 
to  us  we  '11  see  that  you  don't  lose  your 
place,  and  we'll  give  you  five  thousand 
dollars." 

I  glanced  at  Fred,  whom  I  found  looking 
at  me  anxiously,  and  asked  him,  — 

"Can't  you  do  better  than  that  ?  " 
150 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

*'  We  could  with  any  one  but  you,"  said 
Fred. 

I  should  have  liked  to  shake  hands  over 
this  compliment,  but  I  only  nodded,  and 
turning  to  Mr.  Camp,  said, — 

u  You  see  how  mean  they  are." 

"  You  '11  find  we  are  not  built  that  way," 
said  Baldwin.  "  Five  thousand  is  n't  a  bad 
day's  work,  eh  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  said,  laughing  ;  "  but  you  just 
told  me  I  ought  to  get  ten  thousand  if  I 
got  a  cent." 

"  It's  worth  ten  to  Mr.  Cullen,  but  —  " 

I  interrupted  by  saying,  "  If  it  *s  worth 
ten  to  him,  it 's  worth  a  hundred  to  me." 

That  was  too  much  for  Camp.  First  he 
said  something  best  omitted,  and  then  went 
on,  "  I  told  you  it  was  waste  time  trying  to 
win  him  over." 

The  three  stood  apart  for  a  moment  whis 
pering,  and  then  Judge  Wilson  called  the 
sheriff  over,  and  they  all  went  out  together. 
The  moment  we  were  alone,  Frederic  held 
out  his  hand,  and  said,  — 


THE   GREAT 

**  Gordon,  it 's  no  use  saying  anything, 
but  if  we  can  ever  do  —  " 

I  merely  shook  hands,  but  I  wanted  the 
worst  way  to  say, — 

41  Tell  Madge  what  I  've  done,  and  the 
thing's  square." 


'S* 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 
CHAPTER   XIII 

A    LESSON    IN    POLITENESS 

WITHIN  five  minutes  we  had  a  big  surprise, 
for  the  sheriff  and  Mr.  Baldwin  came  back, 
and  the  former  announced  that  Fred  and 
Lord  Ralles  were  free,  having  been  released 
on  bail.  When  we  found  that  Baldwin  had 
gone  on  the  bond,  I  knew  that  there  was  a 
scheme  of  some  sort  in  the  move,  and,  taking 
Fred  aside,  I  warned  him  against  trying  to 
recover  the  proxies. 

"  They  probably  think  that  one  or  the 
other  of  you  knows  where  the  letters  are 
hidden,"  I  whispered,  "  and  they  '11  keep  a 
watch  on  you ;  so  go  slow." 

He  nodded,  and  followed  the  sheriff  and 
Lord  Ralles  out. 

The  moment  they  were  gone,  Mr.  Camp 
said,  "  I  came  back  to  give  you  a  last 
chance." 

153 


THE   GREAT 

•*  That 's  very  good  of  you,"  1  said. 

"  I  warn  you,"  he  muttered  threateningly, 
"  we  are  not  men  to  be  beaten.  There  are 
fifty  cowboys  of  Baldwin's  in  this  town, 
who  think  you  were  concerned  in  the  holding 
up.  By  merely  tipping  them  the  wink, 
they  '11  have  you  out  of  this,  and  after  they  've 
got  you  outside  I  would  n't  give  the  toss  of  a 
nickel  for  your  life.  Now,  then,  will  you 
hand  over  those  letters,  or  will  you  go  to 
inside  of  ten  minutes  ?  " 

I  lost  my  temper  in  turn.  "  I  'd  much 
prefer  going  to  some  place  where  I  was  less 
sure  of  meeting  you,"  I  retorted  j  "  and  as 
for  the  cowboys,  you  '11  have  to  be  as  tricky 
with  them  as  you  want  to  be  with  me  before 
you  '11  get  them  to  back  you  up  in  your 
dirty  work." 

At  this  point  the  sheriff  called  back  to 
ask  Camp  if  he  was  coming. 

"  All  right,"  cried  Camp,  and  went  to  the 
door.  "This  is  the  last  call,"  he  snarled, 
pausing  for  a  moment  on  the  threshold. 

"  I  hope  so,"  said  I,  more  calmly  in 
154 


K.    &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

manner  than  in  feeling,  I  have  to  acknowl 
edge,  for  I  did  n't  like  the  look  of  things. 
That  they  were  in  earnest  I  felt  pretty 
certain,  for  I  understood  now  why  they  had 
let  my  companions  out  of  jail.  They 
knew  that  angry  cowboys  were  a  trifle  undis- 
criminating,  and  did  n't  care  to  risk  hanging 
more  than  was  necessary. 

A  long  time  seemed  to  pass  after  they 
were  gone,  but  in  reality  it  was  n't  more  than 
fifteen  minutes  before  I  heard  some  one  steal 
up  and  softly  unlock  the  door.  I  confess 
the  evident  endeavor  to  do  it  quietly  gave 
me  a  scare,  for  it  seemed  to  me  it  could  n't 
be  an  above-board  movement.  Thinking 
this,  I  picked  up  the  box  on  which  I  had 
been  sitting  and  prepared  to  make  the  best 
fight  I  could.  It  was  a  good  deal  of  relief, 
therefore,  when  the  door  opened  just  wide 
enough  for  a  man  to  put  in  his  head,  and  I 
heard  the  sheriff's  voice  say,  softly,  — 

"  Hi,  Gordon  !  " 

I  was  at  the  door  in  an  instant,  and 
asked, — 


THE   GREAT 

«  What 's  up  ?  " 

"  They  're  gettin'  the  fellers  together,  and 
sayin'  that  yer  shot  a  woman  in  the  hold-up." 

"  It 's  an  infernal  lie,"  I  said. 

"Sounds  that  way  to  me,"  assented  the 
sheriff;  "but  two-thirds  of  the  boys  are 
drunk,  and  it 's  a  long  time  since  they  lve  had 
any  fun." 

"  Well,"  I  said,  as  calmly  as  I  could, 
u  are  you  going  to  stand  by  me  ? " 

"  I  would,  Mr.  Gordon,"  he  replied,  "  if 
there  was  any  good,  but  there  ain't  time  to 
get  a  posse,  and  what  's  one  Winchester 
against  a  mob  of  cowboys  like  them  ?  " 

"  If  you  '11  lend  me  your  gun,"  I  said, 
"  I  '11  show  just  what  it  is  worth,  without 
troubling  you." 

"I'll  do  better  than  that,"  offered  the 
sheriff,  "  and  that 's  what  I  'm  here  for. 
Just  sneak,  while  there  's  time." 

"  You  mean  — ?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"That's  it.  I'm  goin'  away,  and  I'll 
leave  the  door  unlocked.  If  yer  get  clear 
let  me  know  yer  address,  and  later,  if  I  want 
156 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

yer,  I  '11  send  yer  word."  He  took  a  grip  on 
my  fingers  that  numbed  them  as  if  they  had 
been  caught  in  an  air-brake,  and  disappeared. 

I  slipped  out  after  the  sheriff"  without  loss 
of  time.  That  there  was  n't  much  to  spare 
was  shown  by  a  crowd  with  some  torches 
down  the  street,  collected  in  front  of  a  saloon. 
They  were  making  a  good  deal  of  noise, 
even  for  the  West  -,  evidently  the  flame  was 
being  fanned.  Not  wasting  time,  I  struck 
for  the  railroad,  because  I  knew  the  geography 
of  that  best,  but  still  more  because  I  wanted 
to  get  to  the  station.  It  was  a  big  risk  to 
go  there,  but  it  was  one  I  was  willing  to 
take  for  the  object  I  had  in  view,  and,  since 
I  had  to  take  it,  it  was  safest  to  get  through 
with  the  job  before  the  discovery  was  made 
that  I  was  no  longer  in  jail. 

It  did  n't  take  me  three  minutes  to  reach 
the  station.  The  whole  place  was  black  as 
a  coal-dumper,  except  for  the  slices  of  light 
which  shone  through  the  cracks  of  the  cur 
tained  windows  in  the  specials,  the  dim  light 
rtf  the  lamp  in  the  station,  and  the  glow  of 
157 


THE   GREAT 

the  row  of  saloons  two  hundred  feet  away, 
I  was  afraid,  however,  that  there  might  be  a 
spy  lurking  somewhere,  for  it  was  likely  that 
Camp  would  hope  to  get  some  clue  of  the 
letters  by  keeping  a  watch  on  the  station 
and  the  cars.  Thinking  boldness  the  safest 
course,  I  walked  on  to  the  platform  without 
hesitation,  and  went  into  the  station.  The 
"  night  man "  was  sitting  in  his  chair,  nod 
ding,  but  he  waked  up  the  moment  I 
spoke. 

"  Don't  speak  my  name,"  I  said,  warn- 
ingly,  as  he  struggled  to  his  feet ;  and  then  in 
the  fewest  possible  words  I  told  him  what  I 
wanted  of  him,  —  to  find  if  the  pony  I  had 
ridden  (Camp's  or  Baldwin's)  was  in  town 
and,  if  so,  to  learn  where  it  was,  and  to  get 
the  letters  on  the  quiet  from  under  the 
saddle-flap.  I  chose  this  man,  first,  because 
I  could  trust  him,  and  next,  because  I  had 
only  one  of  the  Cullens  as  an  alternative, 
and  if  any  of  them  went  sneaking  round,  it 
would  be  sure  to  attract  attention.  "  The 
moment  you  have  the  letters,  put  them  in 
158 


fc.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

the  station  safe,"  I  ended,  "  and  then  get 
word  to  me." 

"  And  where  '11  you  be,  Mr.  Gordon  ?  " 
asked  the  man. 

"  Is  there  any  place  about  here  that 's  a 
safe  hiding  spot  for  a  few  hours  ? "  I  asked. 
**  I  want  to  stay  till  I  'm  sure  those  letters 
are  safe,  and  after  that  I  '11  steal  on  board 
the  first  train  that  comes  along." 

u  Then  you  '11  want  to  be  near  here,"  said 
the  man.  "  I  '11  tell  you,  I  've  got  just  the 
place  for  you.  The  platform's  boarded  in 
all  round,  but  I  noticed  one  plank  that 's 
loose  at  one  end,  right  at  this  nigh  corner, 
and  if  you  just  pry  it  open  enough  to  get 
in,  and  then  pull  the  board  in  place,  they  '11 
never  find  you." 

u  That  will  do,"  I  said  ;  "  and  when  the 
letters  are  safe,  come  out  on  the  platform, 
walk  up  and  down  once,  bang  the  door  twice, 
and  then  say,  l  That  way  freight  is  late.' 
And  if  you  get  a  chance,  tell  one  of  the 
Cullens  where  I  'm  hidden." 

J  crossed  the  platform  boldly,  jumped 
159 


THE   GREAT 

down,  and  walked  away.  But  after  going 
fifty  feet  I  dropped  down  on  my  hands  and 
knees  and  crawled  back.  Inside  of  two 
minutes  I  was  safely  stowed  away  under  the 
platform,  in  about  as  neat  a  hiding-place  as  a 
man  could  ask.  In  fact,  if  I  had  only  had 
my  wits  enough  about  me  to  borrow  a  re 
volver  of  the  man,  I  could  have  made  a 
pretty  good  defence,  even  if  discovered. 

Underneath  the  platform  was  loose  gravel, 
and,  as  an  additional  precaution,  I  scooped 
out,  close  to  the  side-boarding,  a  trough  long 
enough  for  me  to  lie  in.  Then  I  got  into 
the  hole,  shovelled  the  sand  over  my  legs, 
and  piled  the  rest  up  in  a  heap  close  to  me, 
so  that  by  a  few  sweeps  of  my  arm  I  could 
cover  my  whole  body,  leaving  only  my 
mouth  and  nose  exposed,  and  those  below 
the  level.  That  made  me  feel  pretty  safe, 
for,  even  if  the  cowboys  found  the  loose 
plank  and  crawled  in,  it  would  take  un 
common  good  eyesight,  in  the  darkness,  to 
find  me.  I  had  hollowed  out  my  living 
grave  to  fit,  and  if  I  could  have  smoked,  I 
1 60 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

should  have  been  decidedly  comfortable. 
Sleep  I  dared  not  indulge  in,  and  the  sequel 
showed  that  I  was  right  in.  not  allowing  my 
self  that  luxury. 

I  had  n't  much  more  than  comfortably 
settled  myself,  and  let  thoughts  of  a  cigar 
and  a  nap  flit  through  my  mind,  when  a  row 
up  the  street  showed  that  the  jail-breaking 
had  been  discovered.  Then  followed  shouts 
and  confusion  for  a  few  moments,  while  a 
search  was  being  organized.  I  .heard  some 
horsemen  ride  over  the  tracks,  and  ilso  down 
the  street,  followed  by  the  hurried  footsteps 
of  half  a  dozen  men.  Some  banged  at  the 
doors  of  the  specials,  while  others  knocked  at 
the  station  door. 

One  of  the  Cullers  servants  opened 
the  door  of  218,  and  I  heard  the  sheriff's 
voice  telling  him  he  'd  got  to  search  the 
car.  The  darky  protested,  saying  that  the 
"  gentmun  was  all  away,  and  only  de  miss 
inside."  The  row  brought  Miss  Cullen  to 
the  door,  and  I  heard  her  ask  what  was  the 
matter. 

ii  161 


THE   GREAT 

**  Sorry  to  trouble  yer,  miss/*  said  th« 
sheriff,  "  but  a  prisoner  has  broken  jail,  and 
we  've  got  to  look  for  him." 

"  Escaped  !  "  cried  Madge,  joyfully. 
«  How  ? " 

"  That 's  just  what  gits  away  with  me," 
marvelled  the  sheriff.  "  My  idee  is  —  " 

"  Don't  waste  time  on  theories,"  said 
Camp's  voice,  angrily.  "  Search  the  car." 

u  Sorry  to  discommode  a  lady,"  apologized 
the  sheriff,  gallantly,  "but  if  we  may  just 
look  around  a  little  ?  " 

"  My  father  and  brothers  went  out  a  few 
minutes  ago,"  said  Madge,  hesitatingly, 
"  and  I  don't  know  if  they  would  be 
willing." 

Camp  laughed  angrily,  and  ordered, 
"  Stand  aside,  there." 

"  Don't  yer  worry,"  said  the  sheriff 
"  If  he 's  on  the  car,  he  can't  git  away. 
We'll  send  a  feller  up  for  Mr.  Cullen, 
while  we  search  Mr.  Gordon's  car  and  the 
station." 

They  set  about  it  at  once,  and  used  up  ten 
162 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

minutes  in  the  task.  Then  I  heard  Camp 
say,— 

"  Come,  we  can't  wait  all  night  for  per 
mission  to  search  this  car.  Go  ahead." 

"  I  hope  you  '11  wait  till  my  father  comes," 
begged  Madge. 

"  Now  go  slow,  Mr.  Camp,"  said  the 
sheriff.  u  We  must  n't  discomfort  the  lady 
if  we  can  avoid  it." 

u  I  believe  you  're  wasting  time  in  ordei 
to  help  him  escape,"  snapped  Camp. 

"  Nothin'  of  the  kind,"  denied  the  sheriff. 

"  If  you  won't  do  your  duty,  I  '11  take  the 
taw  into  my  own  hands,  and  order  the  car 
searched,"  sputtered  Camp,  so  angry  as 
hardly  to  be  able  to  articulate. 

"  Look  a  here,"  growled  the  sheriff,"  who 
are  yer  sayin'  all  this  to  anyway  ?  If  yei 
talkin'  to  me,  say  so  right  off." 

"  All  I  mean,"  hastily  said  Camp,  "  is  that 
it 's  your  duty,  in  your  honorable  position,  to 
search  this  car." 

"  I  don't  need  no  instruct! n'  in  my  dooty  as 
sheriff,"  retorted  the  official.  u  But  a  biggei 
.$3 


THE   GREAT 

dooty  is  what  is  owin'  to  the  feminine  sex. 
When  a  female  is  in  question,  a  gentleman, 
Mr.  Camp,  —  yes,  sir,  a  gentleman,  —  is  in 
dooty  bound  to  be  perlite." 

"  Politeness  be  !  "  swore 

Camp. 

"  Git  as  angry  as  yer please,"  roared 

the  sheriff  wrathfully,  "  but my  soul  to 

if  any cuss  has  a  right  to  use 

such talk  in  the  presence  of  a 

lady  ! " 


10* 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 


CHAPTER   XIV 

**  LISTENERS  NEVER    HEAR  ANYTHING  GOOD  ** 

BEFORE  I  had  ceased  chuckling  over  the 
sherifPs  indignant  declaration  of  the  canons 
of  etiquette,  I  heard  Air.  Cullen's  voice  de 
manding  to  know  what  the  trouble  was,  and 
it  was  quickly  explained  to  him  that  I  had 
escaped.  He  at  once  gave  them  permission 
to  search  his  car,  and  went  in  with  the 
sheriff  and  the  cowboys.  Apparently  Madge 
went  in  too,  for  in  a  moment  I  heard  Camp 
say,  in  a  low  voice, — 

"  Two  of  you  fellows  get  down  below  the 
car  and  crawl  in  under  the  truck  where  you 
can't  be  seen.  Evidently  that  cuss  is  n't 
here,  but  he  's  likely  to  come  by  and  by.  If 
so,  nab  him  if  you  can,  and  if  you  can't,  fire 
two  shots.  Mosely,  are  you  heeled  ?  " 

"  Do  I  chaw  terbaccy  ?  "  asked  Moselyt 


THE   GREAT 

Ironically,  clearly  insulted  at  the   suggestion 
that  he  would  travel  without  a  gun. 

"  Then  keep  a  sharp  lookout,  and  listen  to 
everything  you  hear,  especially  the  where 
abouts  of  some  letters.  If  you  can  spot  their 
lay,  crawl  out  and  get  word  to  me  at  once. 
Now,  under  you  go  before  they  come  out." 

I  heard  two  men  drop  into  the  gravel 
close  alongside  of  where  I  lay,  and  then 
crawl  under  the  truck  of  2 1 8.  They  were  n't 
a  moment  too  soon,  for  the  next  instant  I 
heard  two  or  three  people  jump  on  to  the 
platform,  and  Albert  Cullen's  voice  drawl, 
"  Aw,  by  Jove,  what 's  the  row  ?  "  Camp 
not  enlightening  them,  Lord  Ralles  suggested 
that  they  get  on  the  car  to  find  out,  and  the 
three  did  so.  A  moment  later  the  sheriff 
came  to  the  door  and  told  Camp  that  I  was 
not  to  be  found. 

"  I  told  yer  this  was  the  last  place  to  look 
for  the  cuss,  Mr.  Camp,"  he  said.  "  We  've 
just  discomforted  the  lady  for  nothin'." 

"  Then  we  must  search  elsewhere,"  spoke 
up  Camp.     "  Come  on,  boys." 
166 


K.  &   A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

The  sheriff  turned  and  made  another  elab 
orate  apology  for  having  had  to  trouble  the 
lady. 

I  heard  Madge  tell  him  that  he  had  n't 
troubled  her  at  all,  and  then,  as  the  cowboys 
and  Camp  walked  off,  she  added,  "  And,  Mr. 
Gunton,  I  want  to  thank  you  for  reproving 
Mr.  Camp's  dreadful  swearing." 

"  Thank  yer,  miss,"  said  the  sheriff. 
"  We  fellers  are  a  little  rough  at  times, 

but me  if  we  don't  know  what 's  due  to 

a  lady." 

"Papa,"  said  Madge,  as  soon  as  he  was 
out  of  hearing,  "  the  sheriff  is  the  most  beau 
tiful  swearer  I  ever  heard." 

For  a  while  there  was  silence  round  the 
station;  I  suppose  the  party  in  218  were 
comparing  notes,  while  the  two  cowboys  and 
I  had  the  best  reasons  for  being  quiet.  Pres 
ently,  however,  the  men  came  out  of  the  car 
and  jumped  down  on  the  platform.  Madge 
evidently  followed  them  to  the  door,  for  she 
called,  "  Please  let  me  know  the  momenf 
something  happens  or  you  learn  anything." 
167 


THE   GREAT 

u  Better  go  to  bed,  Madgy,"  Albert  called. 
**  You  '11  only  worry,  and  it 's  after  three." 

"  I  could  n't  sleep  if  I  tried,"  she  answered. 

Their  footsteps  died  away  in  a  moment, 
and  I  heard  her  close  the  door  of  218.  In  a 
few  moments  she  opened  it  again,  and,  step 
ping  down  to  the  station  platform,  began  to 
pace  up  and  down  it.  If  I  had  only  dared,  I 
could  have  put  my  finger  through  the  crack 
of  the  planks  and  touched  her  foot  as  she 
walked  over  my  head,  but  I  was  afraid  it 
might  startle  her  into  a  shriek,  and  there  was 
no  explaining  to  her  what  it  meant  without 
telling  the  cowboys  how  close  they  were  to 
their  quarry. 

Madge  had  n't  walked  from  one  end  of  the 
platform  to  the  other  more  than  three  or  four 
times,  when  I  heard  some  one  coming.  She 
evidently  heard  it  also,  for  she  said,  — 

"  I  began  to  be  afraid  you  had  n't  under 
stood  me." 

"  I  thought  you  told  me  to  see  first  if 
\  were  needed,"  responded  a  voice  that 
even  t*>e  distance  and  the  planks  did  not 
168 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

prevent  me  from  recognizing  as  that  of  Lord 
Ralles. 

11  Yes,"  said  she.  "  You  are  sure  you  can 
be  spared  ?  " 

u  I  could  n't  be  of  the  slightest  use,"  as 
serted  Ralles,  getting  on  to  the  platform  and 
joining  Madge.  "  It 's  as  black  as  ink  every 
where,  and  I  don  't  think  there  's  anything  to 
be  done  till  daylight." 

"  Then  I  'm  glad  you  came  back,  for  I 
really  want  to  say  something,  —  to  ask  the 
greatest  favor  of  you." 

"  You  only  have  to  tell  me  what  it  is," 
said  his  lordship. 

"  Even  that  is  very  hard,"  murmured 
Madge.  "If— if —  Oh!  I  'm  afraid  I 
have  n't  the  courage,  after  all." 

"  I  '11  be  glad  to  do  anything  I  can." 

"It's  —  well —  Oh,  dear,  I  can't. 
Let's  walk  a  little,  while  I  think  how  to 
put  it." 

They  began  to  walk,  which  took  a  weight 
off  my  mind,  as  I  had  been  forced  to  hear 
every  word  thus  far  spoken,  and  was  dread- 
169 


THE   GREAT 

ing  what  might  follow,  since  I  was  perfectly 
helpless  to  warn  them.  The  platform  was 
built  around  the  station,  and  in  a  moment 
they  were  out  of  hearing. 

Before  many  seconds  were  over,  however, 
they  had  walked  round  the  building,  and  I 
heard  Lord  Ralles  say,  — 

"  You  really  don't  mean  that  he  's  insulted 
you  ?  " 

"That  is  just  what  I  do  mean,"  cried 
Madge,  indignantly.  "  It 's  been  almost  past 
endurance.  I  have  n't  dared  to  tell  any  one, 
but  he  had  the  cruelty,  the  meanness,  on 
Hance's  trail  to  threaten  that  — " 

At  that  point  the  walkers  turned  the  corner 
again,  and  I  could  not  hear  the  rest  of  the 
sentence.  But  I  had  heard  more  than  enough 
ta  make  me  grow  hot  with  mortification, 
even  while  I  could  hardly  believe  I  had  un 
derstood  aright.  Madge  had  been  so  kind  to 
me  lately  that  I  could  n't  think  she  had  been 
feeling  as  bitterly  as  she  spoke.  That  such 
an  apparently  frank  girl  was  a  consummate 
actress  was  n't  to  be  thought,  and  yet  —  i 
170 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

remembered  how  well  she  had  played  her  part 
on  Hance's  trail ;  but  even  that  would  n't 
convince  me.  Proof  of  her  duplicity  came 
quickly  enough,  for,  while  I  was  still  think 
ing,  the  walkers  were  round  again,  and  Lord 
Ralles  was  saying,  — 

"  Why  have  n't  you  complained  to  your 
father  or  brothers  ?  " 

"  Because  I  knew  they  would  resent  his 
conduct  to  me,  and  —  " 

"Of  course  they  would,"  cried  her  com 
panion,  interrupting.  "  But  why  should  you 
object  to  that  ?  " 

"  Because  of  the  letters,"  explained  Madge. 
"  Don't  you  see  that  if  we  made  him  angry 
he  would  betray  us  to  Mr.  Camp,  and  — " 

Then  they  passed  out  of  hearing,  leaving 
me  almost  desperate,  both  at  being  an  eaves 
dropper  to  such  a  conversation,  and  that 
Madge  could  think  so  meanly  of  me.  To 
say  it,  too,  to  Lord  Ralles  made  it  cut  all 
the  deeper,  as  any  fellow  who  has  been  in 
Jlove  will  understand. 

Round  they  came  again  in  a  moment,  and 
171 


THE   GREAT 

I  braced  myself  for  the  lash  of  the  whip  that 
I  felt  was  coming.  I  did  n't  escape  it,  for 
Madge  was  saying,  — 

"  Can  you  conceive  of  a  man  pretending 
to  care  for  a  girl  and  yet  treating  her  so  ?  I 
can't  tell  you  the  grief,  the  mortification,  I 
have  endured."  She  spoke  with  a  half-sob 
in  her  throat,  as  if  she  was  struggling  not  to 
cry,  which  made  me  wish  I  had  never  been 
born.  "  It 's  been  all  I  could  do  to  control 
myself  in  his  presence,  I  have  come  so  utterly 
to  hate  and  despise  him,"  she  added. 

"  I  don't  wonder,"  growled  Lord  Ralles. 
"  My  only  surprise  is  —  " 

With  that  they  passed  out  of  hearing  again, 
leaving  me  fairly  desperate  with  shame,  grief, 
and,  I  'm  afraid,  with  anger.  I  felt  at  once 
guilty  and  yet  wronged.  I  knew  my  conduct 
on  the  trail  must  have  seemed  to  her  ungen- 
tlemanly  because  I  had  never  dared  to  explain 
that  my  action  there  had  been  a  pure  blufF,  and 
that  I  would  n't  have  really  searched  her  for 
—  well,  for  anything;  but  though  she  might 
think  badly  of  me  for  that,  yet  I  had  done  my 
172 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

best  to  counterbalance  it,  and  was  running  big 
risks,  both  present  and  eventual,  for  Madge's 
sake.  Yet  here  she  was  acknowledging  that 
thus  far  she  had  used  me  as  a  puppet,  while 
all  the  time  disliking  me.  It  was  a  terrible 
blow,  made  all  the  harder  by  the  fact  that  she 
was  proving  herself  such  a  different  girl  from 
the  one  I  loved,  —  so  different,  in  fact,  that, 
despite  what  I  had  heard,  I  could  n't  quite 
believe  it  of  her,  and  found  myself  seeking 
to  extenuate  and  even  justify  her  conduct. 
While  I  was  doing  this,  they  came  within 
hearing,  and  Lord  Ralles  was  speaking. 

«  —  whh  you,"  he  said.  "  But  I  still  do 
not  see  what  I  can  do,  however  much  I  may 
wish  to  serve  you." 

"  Can't  you  go  to  him  and  insist  that  he  — 
or  tell  him  what  I  really  feel  towards  him  — 
or  anything,  in  fact,  to  shame  him  ?  I  really 
can't  go  on  acting  longer." 

That  reached  the  limit  of  my  endurance, 

and  I  crawled  from  my  burrow,  intending  to 

get  out  from  under  that  platform,  whether  I 

was  caught  or  not.     I  know  it  was  a  foolish 

175 


THE   GREAT 

move ;  after  having  heard  what  I  had,  a  little 
more  or  less  was  quite  immaterial.  But  I 
entirely  forgot  my  danger,  in  the  sting  of 
what  Madge  had  said,  and  my  one  thought 
was  to  stand  face  to  face  with  her  long 
enough  to  —  I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  I 
intended  to  say. 

Just  as  1  reached  the  plank,  however,  I 
heard  Lord  Ralles  ask,  — 

"Who's  that?" 

"  It 's  me,"  said  a  voice,  —  "  the  station 
agent."  Then  I  heard  a  door  close.  Some 
one  walked  out  to  the  centre  of  the  platform 
and  remarked,  — 

"  That  'ere  way  freight  is  late.*' 

At  least  the  letters  were  recovered. 


K.  &  A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 


CHAPTER   XV 

THE  SURRENDER  OF  THE  LETTERS 

IF  the  letters  were  safe,  that  was  a  good  deal 
more  than  I  was.  The  moment  the  station- 
master  had  made  his  agreed-upon  announce 
ment,  he  said  to  the  walkers,  — 

"  Had  any  news  of  Mr.  Gordon  ?  " 

"No,"  replied  Lord  Ralles.  "And,  as 
the  lights  keep  moving  in  the  town,  they 
must  still  be  hunting  for  him." 

"  I  reckon  they  '11  do  considerable  more 
Jiuntin'  before  they  find  him  up  there,'* 
chuckled  the  man,  with  a  self-important 
manner.  <l  He  's  hidden  away  under  this  ere 
platform." 

"  Not  right   here  ? "  I  heard   Madge  cry, 

but  I  had  too  much  to  do  to  take  in  what 

followed.     I   was  lying   close    to    the    loose 

plank,  and    even    before    the    station-master 

175 


THE   GREAT 

had  completed  his  sentence  I  was  squirming 
through  the  crack.  As  I  freed  my  legs  I 
heard  two  shots,  which  I  knew  was  the 
signal  given  by  the  cowboys,  followed  by  a 
shriek  of  fright  from  Madge,  for  which  she 
was  hardly  to  be  blamed.  I  was  on  my  feet 
in  an  instant  and  ran  down  the  tracks  at  my 
best  speed.  It  was  n't  with  much  hope  of 
escape,  for  once  out  from  under  the  planking 
I  found,  what  I  had  not  before  realized,  that 
day  was  dawning,  and  already  outlines  at  a 
distance  could  be  seen.  However,  I  was 
bound  to  do  my  best,  and  I  did  it. 

Before  I  had  run  a  hundred  feet  I  could 
hear  pursuers,  and  a  moment  later  a  revolver 
cracked,  ploughing  up  the  dust  in  front  of 
me.  Another  bullet  followed,  and,  seeing 
that  affairs  were  getting  desperate,  I  dodged 
round  the  end  of  some  cars,  only  to  plump 
into  a  man  running  at  full  speed.  The  col 
lision  was  so  unexpected  that  we  both  fell, 
and  before  I  could  get  on  my  feet  one  of  my 
pursuers  plumped  down  on  top  of  me  and  I 
felt  something  cold  on  the  back  of  my  neck, 
176 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN -ROBBERY 

**  Lie  still,  yer  sneakin  coyote  of  a  road 
agent,"  said  the  man,  "  or  I  '11  blow  yer  so 
full  of  lead  that  yer  could  n't  float  in  Salt 
Lake." 

I  preferred  to  *ake  his  advice,  and  lay 
quiet  while  the  cowboys  gathered.  From  all 
directions  I  heard  them  coming,  calling  to 
each  other  that  "  the  skunk  that  shot  the 
woman  is  corralled,"  and  other  forms  of  the 
same  information.  In  a  moment  I  was 
jerked  to  my  feet,  only  to  be  swept  off  them 
with  equal  celerity,  and  was  half  carried,  half 
dragged,  along  the  tracks.  It  wasn't  as 
rough  handling  as  I  have  taken  on  the  foot 
ball-field,  but  I  did  n't  enjoy  it. 

In  a  space  of  time  that  seemed  only 
seconds,  I  was  close  to  a  telegraph-pole ;  but, 
brief  as  the  moment  had  been,  a  fellow  with 
a  lariat  tied  round  his  waist  was  half-way  up 
the  post.  I  knew  the  mob  had  been  told 
that  I  had  killed  a  woman  in  the  hold-up,  for 
the  cowboy,  bad  as  he  is,  has  his  own  stand 
ards,  beyond  which  he  won't  go.  But  1 
might  as  well  have  tried  to  tell  my  innocence 


THE   GREAT 

to  the  moon  as  to  get  them  to  listen  ta 
denials,  even  if  I  could  have  made  my  voice 
heard. 

The  lariat  was  dropped  over  the  cross- 
piece,  and  as  a  man  adjusted  the  noose  a 
sudden  silence  fell.  I  thought  it  was  a  little 
sense  of  what  they  were  doing,  but  it  was 
merely  due  to  the  command  of  Baldwin,  who, 
with  Camp,  stood  just  outside  the  mob. 

"  Let  me  say  a  word  before  you  pull,"  he 
called,  and  then  to  me  he  said,  "  Now  will 
you  give  up  the  property  ?  " 

I  was  pretty  pale  and  shaky,  but  I  come 
of  stiffish  stock,  and  1  would  n't  have  backed 
down  then,  it  seemed  to  me,  if  they  had  been 
going  to  boil  me  alive.  I  suppose  it  sounds 
foolish,  and  if  I  had  had  plenty  of  time  I  have 
no  doubt  my  common-sense  would  have  made 
me  crawl.  Not  having  time,  I  was  on  the 
point  of  saying  "  No,"  when  the  door  of 
218,  which  lay  about  two  hundred  yards 
away,  flew  open,  and  out  came  Mr.  Cullen^ 
Fred,  Albert,  Lord  Ralles,  and  Captain  Ack- 
land,  all  with  rifles.  Of  course  it  was  per- 
178 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

feet  desperation  for  the  five  to  tackle  the 
cowboys,  but  they  were  game  to  do  it,  all 
the  same. 

How  it  would  have  ended  I  don't  know, 
but  as  they  sprang  off  the  car  platform  Miss 
Cullen  came  out  on  it,  and  stood  there,  one 
hand  holding  on  to  the  door-way,  as  if  she 
needed  support,  and  the  other  covering  hei 
heart.  It  was  too  far  for  me  to  see  her 
face,  but  the  whole  attitude  expressed  such 
suffering  that  it  was  terrible  to  see.  What 
was  more,  her  position  put  her  in  range  of 
every  shot  the  cowboys  might  fire  at  the  five 
as  they  charged.  If  I  could  have  stopped 
them  I  would  have  done  so,  but,  since  that 
was  impossible,  I  cried,  — 

"  Mr.  Camp,  I  '11  surrender  the  letters." 

"  Hold  on,  boys,"  shouted  Baldwin  5 
"  wait  till  we  get  the  property  he  stole." 
And,  coming  through  the  crowd,  he  threw 
the  noose  off  my  neck. 

"  Don't  shoot,  Mr.  Cullen,"  I  yelled,  as 
my  friends  halted  and  raised  their  rifles,  and, 
fortunately,  the  cowboys  had  opened  up 
179 


THE   GREAT 

enough  to  let  them  hear  me  and  see  that 
I  was  free  of  the  rope. 

Escorted  by  Camp,  Baldwin,  and  the  cow 
boys,  I  walked  towards  them.  On  the  way 
Baldwin  said,  in  a  low  voice,  "  Deliver  the 
letters,  and  we  '11  tell  the  boys  there  has  been 
a  mistake.  Otherwise  —  " 

When  we  came  up  to  the  five,  I  called  to 
them  that  I  had  agreed  to  surrender  the 
letters.  While  I  was  saying  it,  Miss  Cullen 
joined  them,  and  it  was  curious  to  see  how 
respectfully  the  cowboys  took  off  their  hats 
and  fell  back. 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  Mr.  Cullen  called. 
"  Give  them  the  letters  at  once." 

"  Oh,  do,  Mr.  Gordon,"  said  Madge,  still 
white  and  breathless  with  emotion.  "  The 
money  is  nothing.  Don't  think  —  "  It  was 
all  she  could  say. 

I  felt  pretty  small,  but  with  Camp  and 
Baldwin,  now  reinforced  by  Judge  Wilson, 
I  went  to  the  station,  ordered  the  agent  to 
open  the  safe,  took  out  the  three  letters,  and 
handed  them  to  Mr.  Camp,  realizing'  how 
180 


K.   &    A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

poor  Madge  must  have  felt  on  Hance's  trail. 
It  was  a  pretty  big  take  down  to  my  pride 
I  tell  you,  and  made  all  the  worse  by  the 
way  the  three  gloated  over  the  letters  and 
over  our  defeat. 

u  We  've  taught  you  a  lesson,  young 
man,"  sneered  Camp,  as  after  opening  the 
envelopes,  to  assure  himself  that  the  proxies 
were  all  right,  he  tucked  them  into  his 
pocket.  "  And  we  '11  teach  you  another  one 
after  to-day's  election." 

Just  as  he  concluded,  we  heard  outside  the 
first  note  of  a  bugle,  and  as  it  sounded  "  By 
fours,  column  left,"  my  heart  gave  a  big  jump, 
and  the  blood  came  rushing  to  my  face. 
Camp,  Baldwin,  and  Wilson  broke  for  the 
door,  but  I  got  there  first,  and  prevented  their 
escape.  They  tried  to  force  their  way  through, 
but  I  had  n't  blocked  and  interfered  at  foot 
ball  for  nothing,  and  they  might  as  well  have 
tried  to  break  through  the  Sierras.  Discov- 

O 

ing  tnis,   Camp  whipped   out   his  gun,  and 

told  me  to  let  them  out.     Being  used  to  the 

West,  I  recognized  the  goodness  of  the  argu* 

181 


THE    GREAT 

ment  and  stepped  out  on  the  platform,  giving 
them  free  passage.  But  the  twenty  seconds 
I  had  delayed  them  had  cooked  their  goose, 
for  outside  was  a  squadron  of  cavalry  swing 
ing  a  circle  round  the  station ;  and  we  had 
barely  reached  the  platform  when  the  bugle 
sounded  "  Halt,"  quickly  followed  by  "  For 
ward  left."  As  the  ranks  wheeled,  and 
closed  up  as  a  solid  line  about  us,  I  could 
have  cheered  with  delight.  There  was  a 
moment's  dramatic  hush,  in  which  we  could 
all  hear  the  breathing  of  the  winded  horses, 
and  then  came  the  clatter  of  sword  and 
spurs,  as  an  officer  sprang  from  his  saddle. 

tt  I  want  Richard  Gordon,"  the  officer 
called. 

I  responded,  "  At  your  service,  and  badly 
in  need  of  yours,  Captain  Singer.'* 

*'  Hope  the  delay  has  n't  spoilt  things," 
«aid  the  captain.  "  We  had  a  cursed  fool  of 
a  guide,  who  took  the  wrong  trail  and  ran  us 
mto  Limestone  Canon,  where  we  had  to 
camp  for  the  night." 

I  explained  the  situation  as  quickly  as  I 
182 


K.  &  A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

could,  and  the  captain's  eyes  gleamed.  "I'd 
have  given  a  bad  quarter  to  have  got  here 
ten  minutes  sooner  and  ridden  my  men  over 
those  scoundrels,"  he  muttered.  "  I  saw 
them  scatter  as  we  rode  up,  and  if  I  'd 
known  what  they  'd  been  doing  we  'd  have 
given  them  a  volley."  Then  he  walked 
over  to  Mr.  Camp  and  said,  "  Give  me  those 
letters." 

"  I  hold  those  letters  by  virtue  of  an 
order — "  Camp  began. 

"  Give  me  those  letters,"  the  captain 
interrupted. 

"  Do  you  intend  a  high-handed  interfer 
ence  with  the  civil  authorities  ? "  Judge  Wil 
son  demanded. 

lt  Come,  come,"  said  the  captain,  sternly. 
u  You  have  taken  forcible  possession  of 
United  States  property.  Any  talk  about  civil 
authorities  is  rubbish,  and  you  know  it." 

"  I  will  never  —  "  cried  Mr.  Camp. 

"  Corporal  Jackson,  dismount  a  guard  of 
six  men,"  rang  the  captain's  voice,  interrupt 
ing  him. 

183 


THE    GREAT 

Evidently  something  in  the  voice  or  ordef 
convinced  Mr.  Camp,  for  the  letters  were 
hastily  produced  and  given  to  Singer,  who  at 
once  handed  them  to  me.  I  turned  with 
them  to  the  Cullens,  and,  laughing,  quoted, 
"'All 's  well  that  ends  well.'" 

But  they  did  n't  seem  to  care  a  bit  about 
the  recovery  of  the  letters,  and  only  wanted 
to  have  a  hand-shake  all  round  over  my 
escape.  Even  Lord  Ralles  said,  "  Glad  we 
could  be  of  a  little  service,"  and  did  n't 
refuse  my  thanks,  though  the  deuce  knows 
they  were  badly  enough  expressed,  in  my 
consciousness  that  I  had  done  an  ungentle- 
manly  trick  over  those  trousers  of  his,  and 
that  he  had  been  above  remembering  it  when 
I  was  in  real  danger.  I  'm  ashamed  enough 
to  confess  that  when  Miss  Cullen  held  out 
her  hand  I  made  believe  not  to  see  it.  I  'm 
a  bad  hand  at  pretending,  and  I  saw  Madge 
color  up  at  my  act. 

The  captain  finally  called  me  off  to  con 
sult  about  our  proceedings.  I  felt  no  very 
Strong  love  for  Camp,  Baldwin,  or  Wilson, 
184 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

but  I  did  n't  see  that  a  military  arrest  would 
accomplish  anything,  and  after  a  little  dis 
cussion  it  was  decided  to  let  them  alone,  as 
we  could  well  afford  to  do,  having  won. 

This  matter  decided,  I  said  to  the  captain, 
"  I  '11  be  obliged  if  you  '11  put  a  guard  round 
my  car.  And  then,  if  you  and  your  officers 
will  come  inside  it,  I  have  a  —  something 
in  a  bottle,  recommended  for  removing  alkali 
dust  from  the  tonsils." 

"  Very  happy  to  test  your  prescription," 
responded  Singer,  genially. 

I  started  to  go  with  him,  but  I  could  n't 
resist  turning  to  Mr.  Camp  and  his  friends 
and  saying, — 

"  Gentlemen,  the  G.  S.  is  a  big  affair,  but 
it  is  n't  quite  big  enough  to  fight  the  U.  S." 


185 


THE   GREAT 
CHAPTER  XVI 

A    GLOOMY    GOOD-BY 

AT  that  point  my  importance  ceased.  Ajv 
parently  seeing  that  the  game  was  up,  Mr. 
Camp  later  in  the  morning  asked  Mr.  Cullen 
to  give  him  an  interview,  and  when  he  was 
allowed  to  pass  the  sentry  he  came  to  the 
steps  and  suggested, — 

• "  Perhaps  we  can  arrange  a  compromise 
between  the  Missouri  Western  and  the  Great 
Southern  ?  " 

"  We  can  try,"  Mr.  Cullen  assented. 
44  Come  into  my  car."  He  made  way  for 
Mr.  Camp,  and  was  about  to  follow  him, 
when  Madge  took  hold  of  her  father's  arm, 
and,  making  him  stoop,  whispered  something 
to  him. 

"What    kind   cf  a   place?"    asked    Mr 
Cullen,  laughing. 

M  A  good  one."  his  daughter  replied 
186 


K.   &   A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

I  thought  I  understood  what  was  meant. 
She  did  n't  want  to  rest  under  an  obligation, 
and  so  I  was  to  be  paid  up  for  what  I  had 
done  by  promotion.  It  made  me  grit  my 
teeth,  and  if  I  had  n't  taught  myself  not  to 
swear,  because  of  my  position,  I  could  have 
given  sheriff  Gunton  points  on  cursing.  I 
wanted  to  speak  up  right  there  and  tell  Miss 
Cullen  what  I  thought  of  her. 

Of  the  interview  which  took  place  inside 
2 1 8,  I  can  speak  only  at  second-hand,  and 
the  world  knows  about  as  well  as  I  how  the 
contest  was  compromised  by  the  K.  &  A.  being 
turned  over  to  the  Missouri  Western,  the 
territory  in  Southern  California  being  divided 
between  the  California  Central  and  the  Great 
Southern,  and  a  traffic  arrangement  agreed 
upon  that  satisfied  the  G.  S.  That  after 
noon  a  Missouri  Western  board  for  the 
K.  &  A.  was  elected  without  opposition,  and 
they  in  turn  elected  Mr.  Cullen  president  of 
the  K.  &  A. ;  so  when  my  report  of  the 
holding-up  went  in,  he  had  the  pleasure  of 
reading  it.  I  closed  it  with  a  request  for 
187 


THE   GREAT 

instructions,  but  I  never  received  any,  and 
that  ended  the  matter.  I  turned  over  the 
letters  to  the  special  agent  at  Flagstaff,  and 
I  suppose  his  report  is  slumbering  in  spme 
pigeon-hole  in  Washington,  for  I  should 
have  known  of  any  attempt  to  bring  the 
culprits  to  punishment.  Mr.  Cullen  had 
taken  a  big  risk,  but  came  out  of  it  with  a 
great  lot  of  money,  for  the  Missouri  West 
ern  bought  all  his  holdings  in  the  K.  &  A. 
and  C.  C.  But  the  scare  must  have  taught 
him  a  lesson,  for  ever  since  then  he  's  been 
conservative,  and  talks  about  the  foolishness 
of  investors  who  try  to  get  more  than  five 
per  cent,  or  who  think  of  anything  but  good 
railroad  bonds. 

As  for  myself,  a  month  after  these  occur 
rences  I  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the 
Missouri  Western,  which  by  this  deal  had 
become  one  of  the  largest  railroad  systems 
in  the  world.  It  was  a  big  step  up  for  so 
young  a  man,  and  was  of  course  pure  favor 
itism,  due  to  Mr.  Cullen's  influence.  I 
did  n't  stay  in  the  position  long,  for  within 


K.   &  A.  TRAIN-ROBBERY 

two  years  I  was  offered  the  presidency  of 
the  Chicago  &  St.  Paul,  and  I  think  that 
was  won  on  merit.  Whether  or  not,  I  hold 
the  position  still,  and  have  made  my  road 
earn  and  pay  dividends  right  through  the 
panic. 

All  this  is  getting  away  ahead  of  events, 
however.  The  election  delayed  us  so  that 
we  could  n't  couple  on  to  No.  4  that  after 
noon,  and  consequently  we  had  to  lie  that 
night  at  Ash  Forks.  I  made  the  officers 
my  excuse  for  keeping  away  from  the  Cul- 
lens,  as  I  wished  to  avoid  Madge.  I  did  mf 
best  to  be  good  company  to  the  bluecoats, 
and  had  a  first-class  dinner  for  them  on  my 
car,  but  I  was  in  a  pretty  glum  mood,  which 
even  champagne  could  n't  modify.  Though 
all  necessity  of  a  guard  ceased  with  the  com 
promise,  the  cavalry  remained  till  the  next 
morning,  and,  after  giving  them  a  good 
breakfast,  about  six  o'clock  we  shook  hands, 
the  bugle  sounded,  and  off  they  rode.  For 
the  first  time  I  understood  how  a  fellow 
disappointed  in  love  comes  to  enlist. 
189 


THE   GREAT 

When  I  turned  about  to  go  into  my  car,  I 
found  Madge  standing  on  the  platform  of 
218  waving  a  handkerchief.  I  paid  no  atten 
tion  to  her,  and  started  up  my  steps. 

"Mr.  Gordon,"  she  said,  —  and  when  I 
looked  at  her  I  saw  that  she  was  flushing,  — 
"what  is  the  matter?  " 

I  suppose  most  fellows  would  have  found 
some  excuse,  but  for  the  life  of  me  I  could  n't. 
All  I  was  able  to  say  was,  — 

"I  would  rather  not  say,  Miss  Cullen." 

"  How  unfair  you  are !  "  she  cried.  "  You 
—  without  the  slightest  reason  you  suddenly 
go  out  of  your  way  to  ill-treat  —  insult  me, 
and  yet  will  not  tell  me  the  cause. " 

That  made  me  angry.  "  Cause  ?  "  I  cried. 
"  As  if  you  did  n't  know  of  a  cause !  What 
you  don't  know  is  that  I  overheard  your  con 
versation  with  Lord  Ralles  night  before  last. " 

"  My  conversation  with  Lord  Ralles  ?  " 
exclaimed  Madge,  in  a  bewildered  way. 

"Yes,"  I  said  bitterly,  "keep  up  the 
acting.  The  practice  is  good,  even  if  it 
deceives  no  one." 

190 


K.    &    A.    TRAIN-ROBBERY 

"I  don't  understand  a  word  you  are 
saying,"  she  retorted,  getting  angry  in  turn. 
"  You  speak  as  if  I  had  done  wrong,  —  as 
if  —  I  don't  know  what;  and  I  have  a  right 
to  know  to  what  you  allude." 

"I  don't  see  how  I  can  be  any  clearer," 
I  muttered.  "I  was  under  the  station  plat 
form,  hiding  from  the  cowboys,  while  you 
and  Lord  Ralles  were  walking.  I  did  n't 
want  to  be  a  listener,  but  I  heard  a  good 
deal  of  what  you  said." 

"But  I  did  n't  walk  with  Lord  Ralles," 
she  cried.  "The  only  person  I  walked 
with  was  Captain  Ackland. " 

That  took  me  very  much  aback,  for  I  had 
never  questioned  in  my  mind  that  it  was  n't 
Lord  Ralles.  Yet  the  moment  she  spoke, 
I  realized  how  much  alike  the  two  brothers' 
voices  were,  and  how  easily  the  blurring  of 
distance  and  plank-ng  might  have  misled  me. 
For  a  moment  *  was  speechless.  Then  I 
replied  coldly, — 

"  It  makes  no  difference  with  whom  you 
were.  What  you  said  was  the  essential 
part."  loi 


THE   GREAT 

c<  But  how  could  you  for  an  instant 
suppose  that  I  could  say  what  I  did  to 
Lord  Ralles  ?  "  she  demanded. 

"  I  naturally  thought  he  would  be  the  one 
to  whom  you  would  appeal  concerning  my 
'  insulting  '  conduct." 

Madge  looked  at  me  for  a  moment  as  if 
transfixed.  Then  she  laughed,  and  cried,— 

"  Oh,  you  idiot !  " 

While  I  still  looked  at  her  in  equal  amaze 
ment,  she  went  on,  "  I  beg  your  pardon,  but 
you  are  so  ridiculous  that  I  had  to  say  it. 
Why,  I  was  n't  talking  about  you,  but  abou* 
Lord  Ralles." 

"  Lord  Ralles  !  "  I  cried. 

«  Yes." 

"  I  don't  understand,"  I  exclaimed. 

"  Why,  Lord  Ralles  has  been  —  has  been 

—  oh,  he  's    threatened  that  if   I    would  n't 

—  that  —  " 

"  You  mean  he  —  ? "  I  began,  and  then 
stopped,  for  I  could  n't  believe  my  ears. 

u  Oh,"  she  burst  out,  "  of  course  you 
could  n't  understand,  and  you  probably  dc- 
192 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

spise  me  already,  but  if  you  knew  how  1 
scorn  myself,  Mr.  Gordon,  and  what  I  have 
endured  from  that  man,  you  would  only 
pity  me." 

Light  broke  on  me  suddenly.  "  Do  you 
mean,  Miss  Cullen,"  I  cried  hotly,  "that 
he  's  been  cad  enough  to  force  his  attentions 
upO  you  by  threats  ? " 

"  Yes.  First  he  made  me  endure  him 
because  he  was  going  to  help  us,  and  from 
the  moment  the  robbery  was  done,  he  has 
been  threatening  to  tell.  Oh,  how  I  have 
suffered !  " 

Then  I  said  a  very  silly  thing.  "Miss 
Cullen,"  I  groaned,  "  I  'd  give  anything  if  I 
were  only  your  brother."  For  the  moment 
I  really  meant  it. 

41 1  have  n't  dared  to  tell  any  of  them," 
she  explained,  "  because  I  knew  they  would 
resent  it  and  make  Lord  Ralles  angry,  and 
then  he  would  tell,  and  so  ruin  papa.  It 
seemed  such  a  little  thing  to  bear  for  his 
sake,  but,  oh,  it 's  been  —  I  suppose  you 


«iespise  me  ! 


J93 


THE   GREAT 

*  I  never  dreamed  of  despising  you,"  I 
said.  "  I  only  thought,  of  course  —  seeing 
what  I  did  —  and  —  that  you  were  fond  — 
No  —  thatv  is  —  I  mean  —  well  —  The 
beast !  "  I  could  n't  help  exclaiming. 

"  Oh,"  said  Madge,  blushing,  and  stam 
mering  breathlessly,  "  you  must  n't  think  — 
there  was  really  —  you  happened  to  —  usu 
ally  I  managed  to  keep  with  papa  or  my 
brothers,  or  else  run  away,  as  I  did  when  he 
interrupted  my  letter-writing,  —  when  you 
thought  we  had  —  but  it  was  nothing  of 
the  —  I  kept  away  just  —  but  the  night 
of  the  robbery  I  forgot,  and  on  the  trail 
his  mule  blocked  the  path.  He  never  — 
there  really  was  n't  —  you  saved  me  the 
only  times  he  —  he  —  that  he  was  really 
rude;  and  I  am  so  grateful  for  it,  Mr. 
Gordon." 

I  was  n't  in  a  mood  to  enjoy  even  Miss 
Cullen's  gratitude.  Without  stopping  for 
words,  I  dashed  into  218,  and,  going 
straight  to  Albert  Cullen,  I  shook  him  out 
of  a  sound  sleep,  and  before  he  could  well 
194 


K.   &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

understand  me  I  was  alternately  swearing  at 
him  and  raging  at  Lord  Ralles.  Finally  he 
got  the  truth  through  his  head,  and  it  was 
nuts  to  me,  even  in  my  rage,  to  see  how 
his  English  drawl  disappeared,  and  how 
quick  he  could  be  when  he  really  became 
excited. 

I  left  him  hurrying  into  his  clothes,  and 
went  to  my  car,  for  I  did  n't  dare  to  see 
the  exodus  of  Lord  Ralles,  through  fear  that 
I  could  n't  behave  myself.  Albert  came  into 
97  in  a  few  moments  to  say  that  the  English 
men  were  going  to  the  hotel  as  soon  as 
dressed,  the  captain  having  elected  to  stay 
by  his  brother. 

"  I  would  n't  have  believed  it  of  Ralles. 
I  feel  jolly  cut  up,  you  know,"  he  drawled. 

I  had  been  so  enraged  over  Lord  Ralles 
that  I  had  n't  stopped  to  reckon  in  what 
position  I  stood  myself  towards  Miss  Cullen, 
but  I  did  n't  have  to  do  much  thinking  to 
know  that  I  had  behaved  about  as  badly  as 
was  possible  for  me.  And  the  worst  of  it  was 
that  she  could  not  know  that  right  through 
'95 


THE   GREAT 

the  whole  I  had  never  quite  been  able  to 
think  badly  of  her.  I  went  out  on  the  plat 
form  of  the  station,  and  was  lucky  enough 
to  find  her  there  alone. 

"  Miss  Cullen,"  I  said,  "  I  've  been  un- 
gentlemanly  and  suspicious,  and  I  *m  about 
as  ashamed  of  myself  as  a  man  can  be  and 
not  jump  into  the  Grand  Canon.  I  Ve  not 
come  to  you  to  ask  your  forgiveness,  for  I 
can't  forgive  myself,  much  less  expect  it  of 
you.  But  I  want  you  to  know  how  I  feel, 
and  if  there  's  any  reparation,  apology,  any 
thing,  that  you'd  like,  I'll  —  " 

Madge  interrupted  my  speech  there  by 
holding  out  her  hand. 

u  You  don't  suppose,"  she  said,  "  that, 
after  all  you  have  done  for  us,  I  could  be 
angry  over  what  was  merely  a  mistake  ?  " 

That  *s  what  I  call  a  trump  of  a  girl, 
worth  loving  for  a  lifetime. 

Well,    we    coupled    on    to     No.    2    that 

morning    and    started    East,    this    time    Mr. 

Cullen's   car   being   the  "  ender."      All  on 

21 8   were   wildly  jubilant,  as   was    natural, 

196 


K.  &  A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

but  I  kept  growing  bluer  and  bluer.  I  took 
a  farewell  dinner  on  their  car  the  night  we 
were  due  in  Albuquerque,  and  afterwards 
Miss  Cullen  and  I  went  out  and  sat  on  the 
back  platform. 

"  I  've  had  enough  adventures  to  talk  about 
for  a  year,"  Madge  said,  as  we  chatted  the 
whole  thing  over,  "  and  you  can  no  longer 
brag  that  the  K.  &  A.  has  never  had  a  rob 
bery,  even  if  you  did  n't  lose  anything." 

"  I  have  lost  something,"  I  sighed  sadly. 

Madge  looked  at  me  quickly,  started  to 
speak,  hesitated,  and  then  said,  "  Oh,  Mr. 
Gordon,  if  you  only  could  know  how  badly  I 
have  felt  about  that,  and  how  I  appreciate 
the  sacrifice." 

I  had  only  meant  that  I  had  lost  my  heart, 
and,  for  that  matter,  probably  my  head,  for 
it  would  have  been  ungenerous  even  to  hint 
to  Miss  Cullen  that  I  had  made  any  sacrifice 
of  conscience  for  her  sake,  and  I  would  as 
soon  have  asked  her  to  pay  for  it  in  money 
as  have  told  her. 

"  You  must  n't  think  —  "I  began. 
J97 


THE   GREAT 

**  I  have  felt,"  she  continued,  "  that  your 
wish  to  serve  us  made  you  do  something  you 
never  would  have  otherwise  done,  for — 
Well,  you  —  any  one  can  see  how  truthful 
and  honest  —  and  it  has  made  me  feel  so 
badly  that  we  —  Oh,  Mr.  Gordon,  no  one 
has  a  right  to  do  wrong  in  this  world,  for  it 
brings  such  sadness  and  danger  to  innocent— 
And  you  have  been  so  generous  —  " 

I  could  n't  let  this  go  on.  "  What  I  did/* 
I  told  her,  "  was  to  fight  fire  with  fire,  and 
no  one  is  responsible  for  it  but  myself." 

"  I  should  like  to  think  that,  but  I  can't," 
she  said.  "  I  know  we  all  tried  to  do  some 
thing  dishonest,  and  while  you  did  n't  do  any 
real  wrong,  yet  I  don't  think  you  would  have 
acted  as  you  did  except  for  our  sake.  And 
I  'm  afraid  you  may  some  day  regret  — " 

11 1  sha'n't,"  I  cried ;  "  and,  so  far  from 
meaning  that  I  had  lost  my  self-respect,  1 
was  -alluding  to  quite  another  thing." 

"  Time  ?  "  she  asked. 

"No." 

«  What  ?  " 

198 


K.   &   A.   TRAIN-ROBBERY 

*»  Something  else  you  have  stolen." 

"  I  have  n't,"  she  denied. 

«  You  have,"  I  affirmed. 

"  You  mean  the  novel  ? "  she  asked  ;  «*  be 
cause  I  sent  it  in  to  97  to-night." 

"  I  don't  mean  the  novel." 

"  I  can't  think  of  anything  more  but  those 
pieces  of  petrified  wood,  and  those  you  gave 
me,"  she  said  demurely.  "  I  am  sure  that 
whatever  else  I  have  of  yours  you  have  given 
me  without  even  my  asking,  and  if  you  want 
it  back  you  've  only  got  to  say  so." 

tc  I  suppose  that  would  be  my  very  best 
course,"  I  groaned. 

"  I  hate  people  who  force  a  present  on 
one,"  she  continued,  "  and  then,  just  as  one 
begins  to  like  it,  want  it  back." 

Before  I  could  speak,  she  asked  hurriedly, 
"  How  often  do  you  come  to  Chicago  ?  " 

I  took  that  to  be  a  sort  of  command  that 
I  was  to  wait,  and  though  longing  to  have 
it  settled  then  and  there,  I  braked  myself  up 
and  answered  her  question.  Now  I  see 
what  a  duffer  I  was  —  Madge  told  me  after- 
199 


THE   GREAT 

wards  that  she  asked  only  because  she  wa» 
so  frightened  and  confused  that  she  felt 
she  must  stop  my  speaking  for  a  moment. 

I  did  my  best  till  I  heard  the  whistle  the 
locomotive  gives  as  it  runs  into  yard  limits, 
and  then  rose.  "  Good-by,  Miss  Cullen," 
I  said,  properly  enough,  though  no  death-bed 
farewell  was  ever  more  gloomily  spoken ;  and 
she  responded,  "  Good-by,  Mr.  Gordon," 
with  equal  propriety. 

I  held  her  hand,  hating  to  let  her  go,  and 
the  first  thing  I  knew,  I  blurted  out,  "  I  wish 
I  had  the  brass  of  Lord  Ralles ! " 

"  I  don't  "  she  laughed,  "  because,  if  you 
had,  I  should  n't  be  willing  to  let  you  —  " 

And  what  she  was  going  to  say,  and  why 
she  did  n't  say  it,  is  the  concern  of  no  one 
but  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Richard  Gordon. 


THE    £ND 


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